We went for a walk today along the 3km shoreline of Cadiz, or was it Cadiz? Various names have been given to the continent’s oldest city but it’s been Cadiz now for a very long time. Yet it is the old city that takes true ownership of the name. The long stretch of beach that we followed was outside the city walls and though it is also Cadiz, the old city people refer to those citizens as Bedouins because they saw the sand as more of a desert.

But the so called Bedouins remain firm, so the old city residents refer to their city as Cadiz-Cadiz. Not so barren anymore – for the last 70 years – this stretch of land, about 3kms by 300 metres, is now just about fully occupied. The beach is lined with different sand coloured hotels and flats between 5- 8 stories high, keeping the road in front in full shade all morning. Summer starts soon and I imagine this quiet beach in May will be more lively in July.

We crossed from the beach towards the sunny side and walked back along a hot uninteresting street back to our fort in Cadiz-Cadiz. That instant feeling as you reach the fort and going back in time is one of bliss especially with the immediate coolness brought on by the tall narrow streets. The contrast was as clear as the lines on each side of the ‘Volta’ in a Shakespearean sonnet.

We paused for a drink close to the pointy end of this 3km (now over 3,5km, adding the distance inside the fort) walk. Leaving Corrie at our cool street table I went inside to look at this cafe/hotel’s patio. It was similar to the one in our previous hostal, but with a different layout, including a picture of the gathering of crowds in a square where the 1812 constitution was being pronounced. 

While I noticed similar patios on our morning’s beach walk, the old city is awash with them. Like the tall narrow streets, these patios are there to create coolness but this time within the building. Averaging about 4 x 4 metres in most homes they are mostly beautifully tiled and often contain a mixture of potted and hanging plants, pictures, artefacts and a chair or two, with a tiled portico usually preceding it.

We continued home taking the opportunity of peering in to savour these patios, as we glimpsed the other side of this narrow peninsular and the many cruise ships in the harbour. The streets now become instantly busier as the ships’ residents come ashore to grab a taste and a memory of this ancient peninsular city.