fotos, cadiz

Well..Cadiz is up and over, and I'm back in Madrid. It was a wonderful few weeks roaming around the province, and I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the scene there, which I mentioned back at the beginning.

It's crazy…this social network that is. As it turns out, or as it seems to me, people in Cadiz generally stay in Cadiz. Wouldn't you, if you had over 40 first cousins from just one side of the family alone (in Luis's case..)? During my two and a half weeks, I met so many individuals, all of which are somehow related. Just knowing Luis's immediately family led to meeting their close friends, and their families, and so-on. Whether they be siblings, cousins, couples…the world here is small. Andalusia is seriously Spanish (as opposed to European), whereas Madrid could be qualified as a little less deeply rooted. Then even further north there's Barcelona, which in many ways, could be a metropolitan city in any EU nation.

It made me wonder…what is it about the geographical entity that is "the south", that people become so deeply settled that they may never leave? I've noticed a trend…

Now that I am back in touch with reality…I finally have an internet connection fast enough to post a selection of photos. Enjoy!

Luis's youngest brother is really into fishing. I kid you not..he does not mess around when it comes to pescado. On my first day in Cadiz, he came home with over 80 fresh caballa, which is sort of like tuna (or so I was told). These were the first fish I've ever eaten whole! They were delicious, and totally worth the fact that the house STILL smells like fish guts.

On my birthday I went to a beautiful place called Zahara de los Atunes…a small fishing town famous for its tuna nets that drag in thousands of fresh Almadraba daily (atun=tuna). There, Luis's other brother held his annual end-of-summer barbecue. Here he is dressed up as a Flamenco dancer with his partner-in-crime (example of above-mentioned effect: his girlfriend's sister's husband…)

Another from the barbeque...Luis's brothers' girlfriends, and to my right, his little sister. Buena gente.

The Andalusian flag…is green and white and everywhere. This was taken while enjoying a cup of coffee in a quiet corner of Cadiz (the city). The only thing that was missing were the cries and claps of the Flamenco performers.

I actually spent a few days there with this guy, yet another brother of Luis'. He is 28, if you can believe it (I couldn't), and rather handsome.

One afternoon we walked the whole perimeter of the old part of the city (the "island" is divided into two parts by the Puerta de Tierra--the historical casco and the new section), and it was quite lovely. This is the most famous beach--Playa de la Caleta. Supposedly a scene from James Bond 007 was filmed here, fooling all viewers into thinking it was Havana, Cuba.

On one edge of the beach, there is a decrepit castle extended out into the ocean, that often goes unseen under the water. When the tide is low, however, you can swim all around it!

Nuns: love them.