This past weekend I visited the coastal town of Cadiz to participate in the Carnaval of Cadiz. Thanks to I Love Spain, a student travel agency, and 22 euros I got to sit on a coach bus for one-and-a-half hours each way\u00a0with other students from Loyola and University of Sevilla. I looked at this opportunity as a way to see a new city and finally see the ocean. As it turned out, I was indeed able to see the ocean but didn’t really get to know the city itself. For one, there were hundreds of belligerent kids in costume running around yelling and trashing the poor city, impaired my impression of it. Also, I was expecting some performances by the\u00a0chirigotas,\u00a0which are satirical groups but I saw non of this because I was too preoccupied with finding the ocean. This I was able to accomplish but no thanks to the poor guidance of what I thought were local residents. But alas the ocean! The great open sea, that I so longed to see. I walked down to the edge of the water and simply sat there enjoying the sounds of the waves crashing nearby. The good life had finally arrived but was unfortunately interrupted by the loud sounds of rambunctious children in the city. As I returned to the center of Cadiz, I tried to locate myself on a map and realized Cadiz was in fact a peninsula sticking out from southwest Spain! But the streets very much reminded me of a medieval Andalusian city with the charm\u00a0of a coastal town and the wind is something to note – constant and powerful.<\/p>\n
As I rode the bus back to Sevilla at 2 am, \u00a0back to civilized law and order, I thought to myself this can’t be the Cadiz that people had referred to as the “little Havana” of Spain.\u00a0Was this Carnaval a real tradition or simply an excuse to get drunk and pass out in the streets? There must be more to this city\u00a0that people traveling here\u00a0are missing out on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This past weekend I visited the coastal town of Cadiz to participate in the Carnaval of Cadiz. Thanks to I Love Spain, a student travel agency, and 22 euros I got to sit on a coach bus for one-and-a-half hours each way\u00a0with other students from Loyola and University of Sevilla. I looked at this opportunity … <\/p>\n