Today's route curves around the Bay of Cadíz. This bay is separated from the ocean by a narrow peninsula on which lies the ancient city of Cadíz. This city was founded around 1,100 BC by settlers from the area that is now Lebanon and Syria. This makes it the oldest city in Western Europe. And that the city has a rich history is clearly to be see. Magnificent buildings have been beautifully preserved and there are numerous cosy narrow alleys, parks, old forts and city walls. Very nice to visit. We went there by ferry from El Puerto de Santa María for a day. Highly recommended!
But today we will only see the city in the distance, mainly the big bridge towards it. In this flat landscape, the two gigantic pillars, almost 100 meters high, of the 5-kilometer-long cable-stayed bridge can be seen for miles. Right as we leave the campsite, we see them from the quay in the beautiful red light of sunrise. We walk towards the port, cross the Rio Guadalete by a more modest bridge and follow a larger road on the other side. After about 5,5 kilometers we can leave the road and it's not long before we enter a nature reserve. We walk along a sandy dirt road. Straight between dune-like vegetation with views over lakes and foothills of the bay. There are lots of birds and flowers, and it's Saturday morning, so we encounter many friendly greeting Spaniards.
The path turns into a walkway of beautiful old sleepers and a bridge over the marshy stretches and a canal. After this, we soon reach Puerto Real where we take a break on the beach by the bay. Nice, the contacts while pausing in a town. People are surprised to meet two long-distance hikers in winter, which leads to nice conversations.
After the break, we walk along a larger road for a while, before it heads back into a nature reserve. It takes some time to find the right path. The road indicated by Google runs over private land. This is closed, but via an abandoned bridge and by going 'off road' for a while, we still get to the right place. We walk along a wide path along the railway and continue to follow it until we reach the town where we'll spend the night. The path is coloured by the yellow flowering mimosa and by the white flowering gorse. Along and over lots of water we walk to the town. Another beautiful old town. It's not even 3pm by now, so we're early enough to visit it later. Today was another beautiful stage!
