The Costa De La Luz in Cadiz: A Spanish Paradise
Places like that do exist and aren’t just in movies or in fairy tales. Let me tell you about such a special spot in the world: the Costa de la Luz in southern Spain province of Cadiz. A blend between modern and the old past, perfect natural reserves, historic traditions blending with current times, and a coast of perfect sand and clear waters, hightlighted with fiery sunsets at day’s end to take your breath away.
I am a native San Franciscan of California and I’ve always thought my City by the Bay was the greatest heaven on earth, till I sailed off as a young sailor to see the world and somehow, ended up in Rota, Spain. I remember the occasion well, sitting in the base barracks with several others waiting for our ship to return to a port so we could be flown to meet the ship. For me, it was the first time outside the United States and in Spain. I never had a liking for languages and flunked learning spanish several times. But that didn’t stop me from taking off on my own to explore the tiny fishing village beyond the base fence that fascinated me and still does to this day.
I later left the military and decided to live in Spain, where I’ve now been a resident for over 13 years. In this period I’ve been to other countries and even returned to the states to live and work, but my passion for my new home has always appealed more to me, and I’ve always returned.
Learning spanish on my own was no easy task and I purchased a English/Spanish dictionary at a local bookstore, a very worn soft-covered reference book I still own! Self-taught as I am in many fields, I now read with ease the regional spanish newspaper three times a week, watch spanish television often (I never knew John Wayne spoke such perfect spanish!!!) and listen to the national and local radio stations, all which helps to improve my knowledge of the local slang and the spanish language, while staying up to date with local, regional and general spanish news. I’ve also traveled to several different regions of this country where I’ve discovered I can blend in easily with others
I also enjoy travelling and do so at every opportunity. The Cadiz province abounds in its rich history dating past its moorish occupation, and boasts of Cadiz, the oldest continuously inhabited city in western Europe, site of where Columbus last stopped before embarking on his voyage to the new world, where seafood in the bay of Cadiz is abundant and so flavorable that you’ll never eat seafood in the states again, and where the last James Bond movie “Die Another Day” featured about 11 minutes of Cuban scenes, all filmed in Cadiz.
Jerez de la Frontera lies just 39 minutes from the coast in directions west and southwest, and is home to the pure-bred Andalucian horses, and where the Real Escuela de Arte Ecuestre – Royal School of Equestrian Art – where horses are taught to dance and perform without oral commands from the trainer. Jerez de la Frontera is also the world’s capital of sherry wine, produced first by the Moors, adding to the already rich Spanish history. There are many other city and villages, the most famous not being a single town but towns as a whole; this area of southern Spain boasts of being home to la Ruta de los Andalucian Pueblos Blancos – the route of the white villlages of AndaluciaâÂ?¦ each village full of history, beauty and unique in their own right.
Of course, there are other routes too:
-the Route of the Wine – la Ruta del Vino: follows the bodegas and the field where grapes are grown in the triangular area between El Puerto de Santa Maria, Sanlucar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera
-the Route of the Bull: la Ruta del Toro: extends from Jerez de la Frontera toward Tarifa and Los Barrios in the south, where spanish bulls are bred
Talking of Tarifa, this windblown city on the very southern tip of the province is famous for its wind-blown beaches stretching for miles – and because of these high winds, this area is very popular with world-class windsurfers who typically surf from Spain to Morocco in the summer, flying across the straits on the high winds and battling their tiny narrow paths on the waves against the huge ships that enter from the Atlantic Ocean!
Vejer de la Frontera is a small town nestled in the southern edges of the Cadiz mountains, getting to be popular with many northern europeans who are flocking south from their cold and gray homes to bake in the warmth of Andalucia. This town has a very interesting downtown area lined with cobblestones.
El Puerto de Santa Maria, famous for their wines, brandy and a beautiful plaza de Toros, also lays claim to excellent seafood. In the summer the city streets are filled with tourists and spaniards in their summer homes to enjoy the beaches and special spanish night-lifeâÂ?¦ where even children as young as babies are out with parents till 1 – 2am, and groups of 11-year olds are out till 3 – 4am!!
Chipiona and Sanlucar de Barrameda are two towns that sit on the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, the same river Columbus sailed up to Sevilla upon his return from the New World. Both are also known for their excellence in seafood, plus Sanlucar is famous for homemade ice cream, now famous nationally, and for their light fino called manzanilla – very popular during the summer months and served chilled with lots of seafood, its unique taste makes many a special meal more unique!! Chipiona also is home to many artists and musicans, and one song by a famous female vocalist about the faro – the lighthouse – that made the tall lighthouse in Chipiona famous throughout Spain.
Rota is another quiet little village that is well becoming a city – during the winter it’s a misty warm fishing village known for its sweet red wine: la tintilla rotena, but the population of this small town more than doubles in size in the summer! Also being host to a huge spanish naval base, where americans also share a portion of the base, many american military has been stationed here and grew to love Rota as much as I haveâÂ?¦ many return to live here while others can just be content to visit once every few years; still others can only dream of Rota and search the internet for pictures and stories of this place where they once lived and worked. Rota is also home to many nationally known artists and musical performers, bringing more fame to this little but fast-growing town. Rota’s best kept secret are its sunsets which are everything from rich blue and cloudless to fiery red sunsets that would even amaze a fireman!
Next to Sanlucar just across the river is the Donana, Europe’s largest wildlife reserve. It’s a beautiful area and huge, and tours are given for those interested. Many migratory fowl use this are during their transit from the chilly cold of northern Europe enroute the warmth of southern Spain and Africa, stopping here to rest during their long journey. For this reason the DoÃ?±ana is very popluar with bird-watchers from Europe and beyond.
Within the province, there are several national parks, the largest being the Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Grazalema. The area is very accessible and full of many hiking, biking and climbing trails, plus a number of mountains where one can climb (or hike). Some of the views one can see in the parque (park) are simply breathtaking, though I strongly recommend not hiking in the extreme summer as the heat can take its toll unless you’re an experienced hiking or climber. If hiking isn’t your cup of tea, it’s also a great place to observe many types of birds and for those with a green thumb, there are many types of plantlife to see and identify, and even a type of pine that grows only in this area!
Another favorite location for my special visitors is Arcos de la Frontera, where I try to take visiting friends. This town is located less than two hours from the coast and its historic downtown area is built upon a huge cliff. Atop this cliff has been built a lookout point where one can stand watching hawks and eagles soar on heated updrafts, and stare out into the bright light toward the Andalucian landscape which is just plain amazing. But because of the height of this cliff, I like to call this particular spot the “oh my god” viewpoint, because once you step to the edge of the lookout point and look down, one can hear that phrase in german, french, dutch or some other language – even in englsih – but always meaning the same thing, that it’s a high and steep fall below! It’s also very windy so if you do go, don’t wear a dress or skirt ladies, for the obvious reasons, unless your accompanying friend has a video camera and you consent to have your video sent to one of those television home video contest shows. The nearby Convent hotel has the same amazing but beautiful scenic views and if you’re lucky enough to book a room that offers that view, you will be waking each morning to an unique and beautiful view!
I can go on and on about all the different towns and villages, how history has been captured in time and how you can enjoy it, but then this would become a book!
Here’s some other tidbits:
There are nine castles in the province of Cadiz, located in:
-Castillo de Luna (Rota)
-Castillo de San Marcos (El Puerto de Santa Maria)
-Castillo de Santa Catalina (Cadiz)
-Castillo de Jimena (Jimena)
-Castillo de Zahara de la Sierra (Zahara de la Sierra)
-Castillo de Guzman el Bueno (Tarifa)
-Castillo de Olvera (Olvera)
-Castillo de Fatetar (Espera)
-Alcazar de Jerez (Jerez de la Frontera)
Did you know there are more than 25 bodegas (wineries) in the province of Cadiz, with the most being 12 bodegas located within sherry-capital Jerez de la Frontera? Each bodega allows tours and wine-tastingâÂ?¦. Bring a sweater or light jacket as the depths of these bodegas never see the daylight and can be a very “chilling” but slightly humid experience!
Throughout the year there are various tradition events, some of the most famous being Holy Week – Semana Santa – in which a week prior to Easter Sunday brotherhoods in each city leave their holy shrines accompanying pasos – floats – weighing hundreds of pounds each and carrying an image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary – some being hundreds of years old. A very solemn event with centuries of tradition!! Spring means ferias and ferias means a lot of spanish partying, in the way of celebrating the life within you! Flamenco dancing, drinking fino and eating seafood is just one of the customs of feria, and you’ll be sure to celebrate too. Famous in each town will be the brightly dressed horses and the beautiful horse carriages, but each Andalucian city celebrates their feria in their special flavorâÂ?¦ the most famous and longest are held in Sevilla (April) and Jerez de la Frontera (usually May) and lasts a week; in other locations they will always start at midnight Wednesday till Sunday. It’s a town/city holiday the next day after the feria closes so be sure you have food in your refrigerator as everything closes except most bars and restaurants.
Many of the cities have local fiestas unique to their area, such as Rota celebrating in October their Fiesta de la Urta, the urta being a fish found only in the bay of Cadiz and prepared locally as Urta a la Rotena, is nationally recognized as a very tasty seafood and unique to Rota, or in Sanlucar de Barrameda where centuries-old tradition of horse racing on the beach during August and September bring spectators from all over the world.
During the summer months but not as often during the winter months, each community has a wide range of free or low-cost events and activities to attract the attention of most, anything from art marathons, jazz/blues concerts, to races and seafood tasting to please everyone in any age group.
What will you do this summer?? Will you spend it in southern Spain where history blends with today and where you will see landmarks and landscapes you’ll never find anywhere else??
There’s a million things to occupy you here; what’s keeping you from visiting the province of Cadiz today? Awaiting you will be some beautiful landscapes unique to this area, friendly people and a long history for you to explore and discover ro create your own history in the Costa de la Luz in Andalucia, Spain.
