In my page on El Puerto de Santa Maria, I mentioned that I had observed sunset with a lighthouse and marina in the distance.
In turned out that the place I could see was called Puerto Sherry, a name that is neither wholly Spanish nor very original and the place has nothing whatsoever to do with sherry other than that the liquor floated past on ships.
Nor is it easy to get to; even though it is shown on bus maps, none of them actually bother to go there, at least not in the winter months.
After about 45 minutes of waiting / asking / shaking of heads, I just got a taxi.
The reason the name uses the anglicised Jerez, is because it was conceived by a British company.
A victim of the 2008 credit crunch, bankruptcy followed and there is evidence of this in the form of a number of unfinished buildings, however the completed bits are very attractive.
Out of season, though, the port is almost deserted so I imagine that most of the properties are owned by people as second homes.
Above is the lighthouse I had seen during the previous sunset.
But attractive as the marina and lighthouse are, the star of the show for me was further along the headland.
The ability to walk for miles with nothing but the natural landscape was the perfect way to spend my last day in the area.
Some way along, I came across the ruins of an old fortress. The fact that it was unmarked and unprotected made me feel like a real explorer discovering something for the first time.
Walking back afforded views back over the "new town" of Puerto Sherry.
I mentioned earlier there seemed to be no public transport to the area. Perhaps you can tell it was a British idea, as in the UK developments are often started before anyone thinks about supporting infrastructure.
So there was the small matter of getting back to my hotel.
Trying to get a taxi via the local uber-style app seemed pretty impossible; no-one could get off their backside to drive out to me, although each one thought about for about 10 minutes or so before thinking "nah" (in Spanish I guess) and cancelling.
One benefit was that I got to see the sun setting over the marina, casting its orange glow over the lighthouse.
I started the very long walk back home and was lucky to be able to indicate to a taxi driver taking someone down to the marina that I would be very happy if they could pick me up on their way back, which they did.
All in all, this was a perfect day - at one with nature, away from the tourist crowds, in unspoilt surroundings - and the perfect end to this Andalucian trip.
So although I still feel quite sad for how El Puerto has declined since its heyday, it did afford me some great experiences that, had I stayed in Cadiz, I might not have had.
THE END