A clear blue midday sky with deep blue waters on either side of the bridge crossing over to Cadiz was quite simply breathtakingly beautiful.
It would have made a perfect photograph but, of course, my camera was packed away for the journey so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Next time - and I rather think there will be a next time, as I fell in love with this place.
An Island City
Cadiz is an island surrounded by the Atlantic ocean and connected to the Spanish mainland by two bridges and a narrow strip of land to the south.
I spent many happy hours walking along the coastline, and especially enjoyed watching the sunsets and the orange glow it cast on the buildings.
A Maritime City
It was originally founded in about 1100 BCE by Phoenicians as a trading post (named Gadir - "an enclosure") and became the main harbour of mainland Spain for trade with America in the 18th century, which brought it wealth and also conflict borne of jealousy from Sir Francis Drake who turned up one day and sank 30 Spanish ships. Things never change, do they?
Today, on the east side of the Island, the port and docks remain busy, not least with the ever-expanding and polluting cruise liners.
In the somewhat busy photo below, you can see the port with a docked cruise ship, and beyond, one of the connecting bridges to the mainland.
These cruise ships are simply huge and noisy. In effect, a temporary 20+ storey building floats into the port and when it comes to about an hour before sailing, they sound their horns repeatedly which can be heard over the entire island.
I suppose it could be useful for the city inhabitants who then know when the invasion has ended...
A Surfing City
With beaches everywhere facing the Atlantic Ocean, the city provides its inhabitants with a fantastic environment for surfing as well as for the army of photographers attempting to capture the moment.
A fortified City
Cadiz was pretty vulnerable and hence built a number of defences. The picture below is of the Castillo de San Sebastián, unfortunately with some hideous contemporary additions. I mean, what were they thinking?
However, the fortifications at La Caleta (below) have been preserved without modern day carbuncles and now form part of an attractive sea walk.
A Cathedral City
Of course, there is a cathedral; what seemed unusual was that it is sited in a small square but itself is immense, and hence seems almost out of place. I walked along a narrow passage into the square, and it suddenly it loomed into view.
As far as I could determine, they actually finished building it! And the views from the bell tower, ascended by means of a slope rather than steps, were incredible in all directions, including the photo across the port that I included above.
The only thing you have to watch out for is the chiming bells every 15 minutes. It was incredibly loud especially if you were standing right under one of the bells - you only do that once. And there are stern warnings about anyone trying to ring the bells themselves!
An Ancient City
As I mentioned earlier, Cadiz has had a very long history, although nothing remains earlier than the Roman Amphitheatre which was big enough to seat 10,000 spectators so one of the largest ever found, and despite its size was only discovered in 1980 following a major excavation project.
An Attractive City
The old town area of Cadiz is attractive by day and by night. Below the main square Plaza de San Juan de Dios by night.
Colourful houses line the sea front.
The terracotta theatre, built in the Moorish style, and named after one of Spain's most famous composers, Falla.
And there are numerous other squares and small parks
In a weird kind of way, I am comforted that Cadiz, in common with many places in my home country, has had its own architectural disasters, captured in the two photos below.
I mean, who on earth thought this was a good thing to plonk by the seafront and are they still roaming freely?
That aside, I loved Cadiz. In fact, I think I could very happily live there.
I extended my stay for as long as I could at my accommodation, but eventually had to move as it was fully booked.
I decided to move to the mainland so that I could come back to Cadiz quite easily as well as see some new things, and so onward to El Puerto de Santa Maria.