I have a love-hate relationship with Google maps. When it works, when lines are straight and its satellites don't have old buildings and tiny alleyways to deal with, it's a wonderful thing. But when it takes its time catching up and tells you to turn down a street you passed 100m ago, or it just stands still and tells you "your accuracy is low, recalibrate", it's a nightmare. The free maps supplied in major cities are advertising media and so not every street appears, and locations are often approximate, so only give at best a direction.
Cadiz, where I arrived at lunchtime yesterday having left my very expensive Chilly water bottle on the train while I chatted with an Australian couple who are going everywhere in Europe, is a very circular place as it's a peninsula surrounded by sea which has served it well as a trading port over the centuries. In fact it was one of the earliest cities in what we now know as Europe when the Phoenicians founded it, only to get walked over by yes you've guessed it the Romans, followed by the Moors again and then the Christians.
I was able to dump my bags and the location of the apartment was pretty good, on one of the main squares not far from the port (the size of those cruise ships/floating hotels!) and close to tourist info. The usual map and flyers in hand, I explored the town a bit, discovered the market with its numerous eateries only after I'd eaten, had ice cream then took a wrong turn and found myself on the wrong side of town, getting sweatier by the minute. I'd got a walking tour booked at 5pm (thankfully with a meeting point withing spitting distance) and needed to shower and change so was getting a bit stressed as I tried to work my way back - for simplicity, if not overall distance, I eschewed the maze of streets for keeping the sea on my right and walking along the Campo del Sur back to Plaza San Juan de Dios. My apartment was tucked behind the impressive Ayuntamiento de Cadiz (the town hall).
The apartment was perfect (apart from the lack of a corkscrew - more of that later!) especially as it had a washing machine so I rejuvenated my underwear collection. It was the third place in a row where digital technology replaced a key or chip card - in Cordoba, I used the last 4 digits of my phone number for all locks, in Seville I had a unique code to my room, but here I had to use an app called Staymyway which I used to check in and to open both the building and my room - it can be timed by the property managers to work only between check in and check out, so it's clever and simple to use but I was a bit uneasy about the reliance on my phone - something I've felt all trip as my interrail pass is also on an app and a paper copy last time felt primitive but somehow reassuring, even though you're just as likely to use that as lose your phone!
I joined the walking tour with Guru guide Sofi in the nearby square, along with three young Lithuanian women, all with immaculate English and all very young and beautiful, so I was glad I had at least had a shower. Sofi was very chatty and friendly and had lived in a number of different places around the world. Initially I was wondering whether to ask her if she wanted to go for a drink afterwards, but as the walk progressed she became increasingly squeaky and a bit irritating, so I was glad I hadn't. The walks are always good orientation though, and we saw some of the main sites including the enormous 4-sided monument to the signing of Spain's constitution in 1812. I went back there before leaving Cadiz to get some decent pics as the sun was in the wrong position at the time. The post office is a bit special too.
Restaurants in Cadiz seem to open even later than I've got used to, so once the walk was over I popped back to the apartment and then ventured out at 8.30 to go to a recommended taberna for dinner - but it was rammed with a long queue and so small it probably isn't the easiest place to eat alone, and sadly it proved the same at lunchtime the next day so I missed out on the shrimp and veg fritters.
As by then it was gone 9pm everywhere was busy, so I made my way back towards the apartment, frequently not knowing where the hell I was (hence my Google maps rant) and found a place, the name of which I think roughly translates as the Master of Eggs. I had a slightly strange combo (becoming par for the course) of tuna cannelloni (which could feasibly have come from the chilled cabinet at Sainsbury's) and ratatouille (mainly artichoke) with a fried egg on top. By this time I could have eaten my sandals so it did the job and the wine as always was good and cheap.
The following day I wandered as usual, tried on clothes which didn't fit, went to the Museo which was free and had some lovely paintings as well as Phoenician and Roman artefacts and relics.
I ate some paella in the market (tasty but almost completely devoid of protein), took a stroll in the botanical gardens with its impressive grotto, and walked along the sea front. I was going to walk along the beach, but apart from feeling very overdressed among the scattering of topless bathers, it was so windy that when I walked out on to the promontory that leads out to the castle of San Sebastian, I had trouble walking straight! I even attempted a selfie video but you can't actually hear me speak on the recording. Bizarrely, as soon as I crossed the street back into the town, it was completely calm.
I walked back in to go to the Torre de Tavira (not to be confused with the one of the same name actually in Tavira) and I passed a couple of bars where only locals go. It struck me how when the old chaps with gruff and throaty voices are loudly regaling their friends with stories, they sound just like Paul Whitehouse did as the old posho in the armchair in The Fast Show - the one who was always "ver' ver' drunk". The Torre contains a camera obscura 360 view of the city which was cool - the guide played a fun trick where she "scooped up" people walking in the streeet up on to a folded piece of cardboard, and had them climb up it like a slope. Lots of rooftop washing lines with laundry flapping in the wind! I also loved some of the artists' impressions of the tower (there are an awful lot of them in Cadiz because of its fortress status in the past).
Excellent ice cream in the cathedral square followed, and the purchase of an insulated water bottle in Ale-Hop - a store which has had more than its fair share of my dosh these past weeks, what with the trainer sock shortage and replacing worn-out spectacle cases. I do recommend though, their fast charging USB units - I've found that sometimes wall sockets won't take an adaptor and a UK plug inside it, and this has worked well when I've needed phone or chromebook charged in a hurry.
Packing for the onward journey to Portugal via Seville needed to be done, and I made a conscious decision not to eat out. Much as I enjoy tasting new things, eating out every night for 2 weeks is taking its toll on my wallet and probably my waistline - plus I couldn't be arsed to shower and change and schlep out trying to find somewhere nice. Other recommendations I'd been given turned out to be either very expensive or closed!
I made an abortive cash withdrawal on my PO Travel card at an ATM which has proved costly as the ATM failed before delivering my money, but I've still been charged nearly 200 euros anyway - I've raised a dispute via the Post Office but it won't be resolved until way after I get back (though worryingly it's my word against the bank). I didn't discover it until last night here in Tavira, so couldn't go to the bank to try and sort it out, had to make a lengthy call and I'm quite upset about it. Over 2 weeks to resolve a dispute just isn't acceptable, made worse by the fact that the PO have to post me a form to fill in and send back which I won't see for a week! I already had a duplicated entry from a restaurant that's in dispute, so I'm pretty pissed off as it's not credit, it's a pre-loaded money card. Be warned! Check transactions as soon as you can if you have an app.
So I popped out to the local Carrefour Express for a ready-made salad and a bottle of wine which even if half was wasted, was as cheap as a glass or so. I put the wine in the fridge, had a shower, and then prepped my little supper. Corkscrew? No, but no problem. I had one in my bag in case of emergencies. Trouble was, it caused an emergency by breaking as I tried to pull out the cork. I had no option but to scoop out the cork bit by bit using a sharp knife and a scissor blade. Eventually (a good 10 minutes) I got the broken screw out, and then pushed the cork into the bottle and managed to avoid too many cork fragments in my wine, which was perfectly palatable. I did feel like a particularly desperate woman.
I woke early, had breakfast (one of the best things about an apartment vs a room), took a brisk walk to the Plaza de Constitution to take some pics (Cadiz old town is pretty compact), and then picked up my bags to walk to the station, which I hadn't realised on arrival was only about 7 minutes' walk away. Taxi driver must have thought I was bonkers - it probably took him longer to get around the one-way system.
Got on a stopping Medio Distancio train to Seville San Bernardo, then got a taxi to Plaze de Armes bus station with a very sweet, chatty driver who was determined to give me as much of a guided tour in broken English and Spanish as the route allowed. Particularly disgusting and inadequate bus station toilet facilities rather spoiled the transit, but the coach was smooth and speedy and I arrived in Tavira just after 4pm, having gone backwards in time over the border into Portugal.
