Meanwhile, we docked in Cadiz, in Andalusia, at 8.00 am on Friday 15 November. I loved Cadiz, or perhaps more specifically Jerez de la Frontera, about 35km inland, which is a treasure. A trip back to the west coast of Spain to make a return visit to Cadiz and to include Seville, Toledo, Cordoba, and Grenada might be on the bucket list one day, this time in a car. 

Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, founded by the Phoenicians in approximately 1104 BC, and changing hands from the Romans to the Visigoths and the Moors, influencing the architecture of the buildings erected in the city through the ages - a mix of neo-classical and neo-modern. It is a small city, currently inhabited by about 112,000 people. It is one of eight provinces that comprise the autonomous community of Andalusia and serves as a continual link between Spain and the rest of Europe. After it was attacked by the British, a wall was built, much of which still stands today. Napoleon invaded Cadiz in 1808 but failed to conquer it. It is only 3.5 km long x 1.5 km wide, so the city is almost an island with 260km of coastlines and sea walls, apart from around the port, which has been built on reclaimed land.  

Cadiz was a rich city in Roman times, and properties are very expensive because there is so little space. Our excursion didn’t include venturing into either of the castles, like the Santa Catalina Castle, the oldest fortress in Cadiz and the San Sebastian Castle. Unfortunately, the views through the bus windows didn’t afford any opportunity to photograph any of the sights we did see. We did pass La Caleta beach which is 7km long and runs alongside the central city with lots of activities going on. This beach has appeared in films such as Die Another Day - one of the Bond series - in which actress Halley Berry is seen emerging from its waters! The people are very outgoing, outdoorsy – not surprising as there are about 300 days of sunshine each year. Of course, there is lots of seafood. 

We left the city and drove to a quaint city called Jerez de la Frontera,  where the time-honoured tradition of producing delicious sherry wine is something that has to be tasted to be believed.

It has a beautiful cathedral situated close to the town square and Di and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the town’s life. Because of the production of brandy and sherry, there are lots of bodegas in Jerez, including Tio Pepe which has the tallest weather vane in the world. 

We visited the Fundador Bodega in Jerez where Don Pedro Domeco Loustau created his famous brandy. We tasted the brandy which, despite the look on Di’s face, neither of us found suited our pallets, despite the fact that each brandy was accompanied by a small bar of the appropriate chocolate to prepare the pallet! I was surprised to find that this is where Harvey's Bristol Cream is made and didn’t need a second invitation to taste this. It used to be a popular pre-dinner drink back in the day in England and is still one of my favourite liqueurs! 

Driving back into Cadiz, we crossed the Puente de la Constitucion de 1812 or “la Pepa”.  This bridge was completed in 2015 and spans the Bay of Cádiz, connecting the city of Cádiz with the Iberian Peninsula, Andalusia, Spain. The bridge, constructed between 2008 and September 2015, is the longest span of 540 metres. It has the second highest height for maritime traffic in the world (69 metres)  second only to the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge in New York, USA.

After being dropped back at the ship, we had a brief pause before nearly all the passengers were taken back to Jerez by a host of coaches to experience a wonderful display of Andalusian pure-bred horses at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art with its famous dancing horses. 

This trip was made all the more enjoyable because we enjoyed it in the company of a couple from Columbia, Maryland, Jeff, and Candee, with whom we enjoyed some special moments during the cruise. We were greeted by a Venenciador who was pouring glasses of sherry for everyone and by beautiful flamenco dancers who acted as hostesses. I confess that I was so enchanted by all the sights and sounds, the beautiful horses and the general atmosphere, that I didn't take any photos. Fortunately, my good friend, Candee, did, and has kindly shared them with me, like these three, one of which (on the right below) that reminds me of the joy I was feeling!

We were able to talk to the horses who were not performing, in their stables, before the main event began. The performance was a breath-taking experience and we marvelled at the well-trained horses and the expert horsemen.

I took some amazing videos that I can’t include in this blog but it was one of those ocasions when one didn't know where to look because there was so much going on, with horses flashing past as they circled the large arena or stopped to perform a wonderful exploit like this dancing horse on the left. 

Suffice it to say, this is an experience that is well worth visiting and all too soon, we were all whisked back to the ship in time for departure at 10.00 pm.