Stray Cats on a Street in Cádiz, Spain
The best country I have visited holds a special place in my memory. I have a great fondness not only for this particular place, but also for that time in my life.
It was 1967. I had received a cash refund from school of $780. Doesn't sound like much to plan a grand tour, does it? And yet, that is exactly what I did. My sister's best friend and I packed our suitcases, took an Icelandic flight to Europe and headed for our ultimate destination: Spain. Those six weeks in Spain stand apart from anything else I have experienced in my life.
The pictures in this post are fuzzy. They are relics, after all. Both my memories and pictures may be fuzzy, but they are genuine.
My Travel Companion Took This Picture of Me, in Cádiz
My affection for Spain predated the 1967 journey. I had been studying Spanish since I was eleven years old. I loved (love) the language. Spain, and the Spanish people, did not disappoint.
Man on a Donkey, Most Likely in Cádiz
Our European odyssey began when we landed in Munich. We bought second class train tickets to Spain, with a connection in Paris. The train was packed and we stood almost all the way. Our first stop in Spain was Madrid. This is a lovely city, but we always planned to go to Cádiz, because there is a university there and I thought I might take a Spanish course.
I never did sign up for that course.
Catholic Priest, Possibly in Seville
However, most of the time we did stay in Cádiz. What was there to do? That's hard to explain.
Cádiz was founded by the Phoenicians and is believed to be the oldest standing city in Europe. A sense of timelessness pervades the city.
There were no Americans, except military personnel, but we never saw them. Cádiz is a popular beach destination for European tourists, but we stayed in a very cheap pension and we didn't see much of them either.
Some of the streets were so narrow a car could never get through. As we walked around in the Andalusian summer heat, cool air would waft from the stone-arched doorways. Natural air conditioning.
Narrow Street in Cádiz
I wondered how that chill would feel in winter. I looked up average temperatures in Cádiz. Summer temperatures range between a high of 83°F and a low of 69°F. Winter temperatures, between 61°F and 47 °F. Pleasant all year round, it seems.
We would buy our bread for breakfast at the bakery that occupied the ground floor of the pension. We'd walk along the shore, and get a sandwich for lunch. We didn't do much of anything. We enjoyed the streets, the people, and the local restaurant where we usually ate dinner.
From time to time we'd take a side trip. Jerez de la Frontera once, where we sampled sherry. We also visited bustling Algeciras. This is a crossing point (by ferry) from Spain to Morocco. Ronda was another interesting stop. This rustic town is perched in the mountains, not far from Málaga. This city, Málaga, is loud and touristy.
Our favorite side trip was to stunning Seville. We went there twice.
Four Children Posed for Us (Looks Like Cádiz)
You can see from the logo above the childrens' heads that Coca Cola was inescapable. As a matter of fact, when we visited Seville we ended up wandering around the desert. My companion had a relative who was in the U. S. Army and we tried to find our way to the base, where he lived. We got lost. Seville is a lot hotter than Cádiz. The average summer high is 96°F. That day I think it was over 100.
Seville Cathedral Spires
It was our good fortune that a Coca Cola truck ambled by and gave us a lift to the army base. When we arrived, I had a fever from the heat and had to be hosed down.
Seville is one of the most beautiful cities in the world (my opinion). It is rich with monuments, gardens and churches. The Seville Cathedral is world renowned. It was built in the 1400s after the Moors were driven out of Spain.
I Thought This Was Cádiz, but It Actually Might Be Seville
Contrast this broad plaza (above) with the picture below, which is certainly from Cádiz. Also notice the white-painted buildings. It is suggested that the white paint is a legacy from the days when Moors occupied Andalusia. This paint not only protects against searing heat, but in later centuries also was used to sanitize houses against infection.
Narrow Street with Sharp Curve: Only Suitable for Pedestrians
As I look at the very old pictures (56 years old) on display in this blog, and try to sort where they were taken, one factor that influences me, besides memory, is atmosphere. Seville was busy. There were always people around. Cádiz was quiet. When I see a location such as the one in the picture below, I believe it is most certainly Cádiz. It felt sometimes as though we had a beautiful place like the one in the picture all to ourselves.
In 1967 I was between sophomore and junior year at college. The first two years had been stressful. Not only was I working two jobs and carrying a full-time school schedule, but I felt like a fish out of water.
I was a scholarship student who had graduated from a blue collar high school. There were few academic demands on me in high school. I mostly coasted without much effort. The university was first rate. Many prep school students with gold star educations. I kept my head down and tried not to be noticed.
So, sleepy Cádiz was a tonic. I lost myself in a city where time and the present seemed to be absent.
Another Sleepy Street in Quiet Cádiz, Looking Down on the City Center
Eventually we ran out of time, in that timeless place. And we ran out of money. Our families thought we had fallen off the face of the earth. We dashed off in the end. We took a plane to Rome with money sent from home. From there we caught the train to Munich and our Icelandic flight home.
I made it in time to register. As for my Spanish language skills--they were quite good when we left. My university had been the city and the people of Spain. Unfortunately, Spanish language fluency faded with the years. I know it's all up there, in my head, somewhere, along with memories and other things from the past.
This essay was written in response to 