To The Coast

I am in Cadiz. From Seville it was a nearly two hour journey by train to reach this southern coast city, a journey that passed through places with names I recognised from the route of my forthcoming trek and in which I watched pleasingly flat ground roll past in between. With tomorrow my only one full day here I made the most of this afternoon: checking the market, visiting the cathedral and the Roman theatre, finding the beginning of my walk and wandering the narrow, car free lanes of the old town. When everything closed mid afternoon I headed back to my hotel to investigate that underrated Spanish institution, the siesta.

In the evening I again set out to explore. As I stepped out into the dusk I was met with the evening buzz of Spanish streets. Even though it was early for Spain - some of the restaurants had yet to open - there was still a busyness and a palpable sense of joy: children playing in the nearby park; the sound of laughter and conversation rising from the street bars - all sounds made by people rather than traffic. Locals were wandering the streets fitting in comfortably with the evening’s general busyness and a handful of tourists were working out how to. And everywhere the steady drone of chatter, no raised voices, no one dominating, just a steady, constant backdrop to the evening. It was an atmosphere that embraced you rather than distanced you, not here the anonymity felt in many another country’s city streets; how could anyone feel lonely in Spain?

Later I headed to the nearby La Caleta beach to watch the sunset (Halle Berry walked from the 'Havana' sea here in Die Another Day). It is a place that has apparently inspired artists over the generations and those of an artistic temperament were represented this evening by the lovers, the book readers and the guitar players dotted around the sand. But sadly, with the last of the sun's rays lighting the beach, the majority by far just sat there immersed in their mobile phones.