We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise this morning as we made our first stop on the European Continent, and it felt like we had come home. We’ve never been to Cadiz before, but after the last two months or so in Africa and Asia we felt like we were back to more familiar surroundings.
Cadiz is an ancient port city in Southern Spain founded by the Phoenicians as a trading post in the 7th century BC. The city is regarded as the most ancient city still standing in Western Europe. The home of the Spanish Navy, the port boomed in the 16th century as a base for exploration and trade. It has more than 100 watchtowers, including the iconic Torre Tavira, which was traditionally used for spotting ships.
The city gained incredible wealth during the 18th century; riches from the Americas were unloaded here after the Guadalquiver River to Seville silted up preventing ships from going further inland.
We did the “Cadiz Walking Tour”, which was the Viking included tour. It was really nice to be able to walk from the ship into the Old Town area of Cadiz for a leisurely tour of the historic district. We had a knowledgeable tour guide who showed us all of the historical old town sites including the Spanish Constitution Monument, Plaza de Mina, Plaza De Espana, the Cathedral Nueva (New Cathedral), the shopping district and the City Hall Plaza.
Gardens and Monument to the Spanish Constitution
Plazas and shopping area within the Old Cadiz
Churches are central to Spanish culture and there are many scattered throughout the old town area. All of the churches are Roman Catholic.
The grandest of the Churches in Cadiz is the Catedral Nueva or the New Cathedral built between 1722 and 1838.
Interior of the New Cathedral
Plaza de San Juan De Dios – City Hall
Here are some random photos from our walk around the city today that we think show the character of this beautiful city.
Our next port of call is tomorrow in Lisbon, Portugal
Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune 
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