jetjunkies

February 26, 2025

We walked Eileen to her train before sunrise yesterday and took nice long naps in the afternoon. She trained back to Seville and caught a flight to London. What a shocking change in climate! Back to hats and gloves…

Today we have decided to go on a Mega walk south to the newer, more modern part of Cádiz. On the way I got sidetracked by Casa De Iberoamérica, a museum that somehow was overlooked and features local artists.

The first exhibit was the art of Marina Gadea with her exploration of sea and land.

“Through the work of Marina Gadea, this exhibition aims to extend the architectural landscape of Cadiz beyond its superficial image and its visible elements, reintegrating into the official narrative of the city the landscape submerged under its waters, the composition of the ocean floor, its underwater volcanoes…

The city of Cadiz, its identity and that of its inhabitants and buildings, is inevitably oceanic; it cannot be understood without establishing a dialogue with the sea and its maritime history. The artist’s work integrates this physical, cyclical and poetic encounter in her work, entangling and untangling the forms of representation of water.”

Cecilia González Godino

Commissioner of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art

“Look at these works as the children of a good friend, I have worked with love …’

These words of Juan Luis Vassallo reveal to us the spirit of his workplace. This second exhibit of a renowned local artist who was a sculptor, painter and drawer of the human figure.

I especially loved the movement in many of his figures.

Upstairs there is the permanent collection of art donated to or purchased by the museum.

As worthwhile as this stop was, Pete was walking and waiting, so back to our adventure. 

Back through Puerta de Tierra south to the modern part of the city. The difference in architecture and vibe is like night and day. A four lane highway is lined with modern apartment/condo houses (probably 1960’s to 1990’s). So uninspiring that neither of us thought to take photos. Our goal was the plaza and park just south of the causeway to the mainland.

One interesting item was the ruin of a Roman home right in the middle of the park.

“There was a set of houses documented during the archaeological excavation campaign that was carried out in 2002-2003.

ROMAN HOUSE VARELA

• I Varela Park is set on land occupied in the oldest history of Cadiz
• by the Phoenician, Punic and Roman necropolis, as well as by areas of farmhouses in Roman times, many of whose remains have been exhumed in this area.

In 2002, the remains of a set of buildings was documented in the place that this park occupies today, which despite having been deeply affected by the construction of Military Barracks, still allowed the identification of the area where the inhabitants who populated this area of Cadiz lived and worked back in the first century BC.” From signage…

Although the architectural remains that was found was larger, the only structure that was preserved is exposed here.”

Well we wanted the exercise and we certainly got in plenty of steps.

We walked back to our favorite restaurant again for one last meal before having to leave. Said goodbye to our favorite server and told him we would be back next year. He told us he moved here for the climate 11 years ago. He is originally from Galicia in the NW corner of Spain, right above Portugal. The great weather includes not getting too hot, usually in the 70’s and 80’s with a few outlier days. Those ocean breezes have created a pretty ideal microclimate. Seville only an hour and a half by train is called the ‘frying pan’ of Spain for its intensely hot temperatures in the summer.

Tomorrow is our last full day to revisit all our favorite places in Cádiz. We will be going to the Botanical garden and another favorite restaurant Entre Castillo. Plus it is the official start of Carnival, so don’t want to miss that.