April 3 – Cádiz, Spain. We've been to Cádiz several times and have always enjoyed it. We had a flamenco show on onboard last night and it was ok but the stage on the ship is not really suited to this dance style. A good flamenco floor is unpainted wood with a space underneath so it has some give. The stage on the ship is solid and is coated with paint and who know what else. They put microphones at the floor level up front to try to help boost the sound of the shoes but that doesn't really help much and the dancers are fighting the floor as well. In addition it was the fancy style of flamenco.
Our first order of business is a short driving tour of the city. We drove out of the port past the old tobacco factory. It's a Mudejar style building that was built in 1741. When it closed the city remodeled the inside and moved its Congress into it. It is a beautiful building. We drove by the Roman theater where work continues on its excavation. We stopped at the ancient Phoenician port of La Caleta. These early seafarers were from the Middle East but had far ranging trading ports. There's a huge one guarding the entrance to Iraklion Harbor on Crete. We drove out of and then into the old city gate.
We had nearly come full circle; we were within 300 yards of the ship when we got off the bus to take a walk through the old city. Things could get complicated as today is Good Friday and the churches are holding their processionals through the city streets, mostly on the narrow pedestrians only part of the old city. (Since there are a lot of businesses on these narrow streets it's really pedestrians only after 11AM. Vendors and delivery vehicles have until then to drive in, unload and then get out. General traffic is not allowed. We are lucky that most stores are closed today so the traffic in the old city is very light except for mini-street sweepers and hi-pressure was vehicles. While they don't present much of a traffic hazard they are both very noisy.
The reason the cleaning equipment is out in force is that the night before Good Friday is a big party time in Cadiz. The streets were in need of cleaning, especially those on the processional's route of march. Our guide says we are likely to run into one of them sometime during our walk.
We started down a very wide boulevard that is always closed to vehicles of any kind that ended at City Hall Plaza. As we approached we could hear a band playing on the other side of the plaza. Our guide took us over there and it was one of the processionals, marching straight toward the square. When the first of the marchers got to us they turned right into another small street so we all stood across the intersection to watch the parade.
The first marchers by were the priests. Behind them came people in white robes and very tall pointed caps, like a dunce cap but much taller. These are the penitents seeking forgiveness. Next came six very tall silver poles each with a candle atop set in a silver candlestick. Not sure what the symbolism is but each was carried by a young (20-something) girl dressed in white robes with black with her in a braid down the back. Behind them was another group of similar girls, I figured they were relief candlestick carriers. As tall as they were and with a very ornate candlestick, not to mention the large candle, I think those things are very heavy.
Behind the girls were some men in blue robes with the tall white hats and some men in white robes with blue hoods. Not sure what any of that symbolizes, but right behind them was the reason for the procession, the float of the Virgin Mary. Describing this ornate vehicle will be tough. The base is banded with ornately figured silver with gold embellishments. It appears to be about five feet wide and ten feet long. There are 12 8 foot high, highly decorated silver poles holding up an ornately brocaded blue and gold top. The top hangs down about 15 inches between the poles on the sides. In the front the part that is hanging down has a crown brocaded in the very center with a small figure of Mary and the baby Jesus underneath it.
In the center of the silver base is a figure of Mary and Queen of Heaven. All around the base there are vases of flowers. Inside the float at the front are groups of about 30 large candles on each corner at the front. Behind the candles and visible between them from the front is a standing Mary. From the look on her face I'd say she is Our Lady of Sorrows on this float. There are vases of flowers along the sides. At the back are very elaborate chandeliers with multiple curving arms some of which extend beyond the float at the back. At the end of each arm is a glass chimney that would cover a short candle. Huge candles at the front and small candles at the back.
Mary is ornately dressed in white with heavy gold brocade with accents of red. She is holding a rosary of pearls in her left hand. Her dress is also jeweled and she has jeweled necklaces and pins as well. Her heavy blue with gold brocade extends out the back of the float almost to the ground. Below the silver base there are brocaded panels that almost touch the ground as well.
When the leading marchers had made the turn and the float was just about to start the procession halted giving us a chance to closely examine it. From under the float several very muscular men emerged to take a break. The base has poles extending forward and backward on the four corners. At each of these was a ceremonial carrier but the bulk of the weight falls on the men underneath.
After about 5 minutes the band behind the float started playing and the solemn procession began moving again. It was nice that we were able to see this spectacle. I've seen these floats stored in cathedrals all over the world but I've never see one in the procession on the street.
We continued our walk through the old city. Most of the tightly spaced buildings have French style balconies. Most are enclosed with windows that can be opened. In a little while we came to the Cathedral Square. It's a fair sized plaza but much of it is taken up with temporary seating boxes like you'd find in a traditional Congregational church on the east coast. There's a wide wooden ramp leading up to the large ceremonial doors at the Cathedral's center. These doors are only opened on special occasions. On the right side of the temporary seating was a large boom for a TV camera. Set a little way to the side is a glassed in booth where commentators can talk without interrupting the ceremonies. Right now the locked booth is being used to store all the expensive TV equipment that will be on the boom for the event. I don't know when the float is scheduled to get here but there's no activity at the moment and the folding chairs are still stacked in the corners of the boxes.
Our guide whet up to the Cathedral to see if it was ok for us to go in and it was. I've never been inside this church; it was never open when we stayed in town before. When you enter the Cathedral you are confronted by a large wall that's part of a room at the rear of the building. You have to walk around that before you can see any of the inside of the structure. The choir is just in front of the room so you also have to walk around that to get to the sanctuary.
The choir is the most interesting part of the building. It's made of wood and is carved with a figure of a Saint of church father over every chair. High up near the top are medallions carved with the busts of female Saints. There's a row of small angels seated on the top over each chair playing a musical instruments. On each side above the choir are the pipes of the church's organ. As I was inside the choir I noticed that there was a group of priests dressed in rose and white robes proceeding into the choir. I stepped behind one of the choir doors as they filed inside and stood in a U shape around the area and started to chant. I quietly moved around the door and out of the choir.
As they chanted I went around the front of the church. The main altar is in a domed structure with columns like St. Peter's in Rome but almost all in white marble with some pink trim. The capitals on the columns are carved from a dark grey stone that could be granite. The altar itself is gilded with a silver panel at the center showing Jesus holding a cross in one hand and a light held aloft in his other hand. At his feet are the tablets representing the Old Testament and an open book representing the New.
There was a somewhat unusual statue of Jesus along the side of the church. He's in a purple robe with the crown of thorns on his head and his hands are tied. He's holding a rod that would have been use on him during his mistreatment. This would have been the moment when Pilate brought Jesus before the crowd after having him punished with the hope that the crowd would allow him to release Jesus. Pilate said, "Ecce Homo." (Behold the man) This figure is not rare in general but I haven't seen it on such a large scale. Usually it's a painting or small statue.
The walls and ceiling are mostly stark white and it gives the Cathedral a cold feeling. The carving on the columns and capitols is very nice and there are a few murals in panels half way up the dome. These small touches of color don't really help temper the cold impression. Perhaps the architect wanted to focus the attention of the congregants on the altar. If you look toward the rear of the building the wooden choir breaks up the sea of white and provides a bit warmer aspect in that direction.
Back outside we walked through the narrow streets to the Flower Square. The square takes its name from the flower vendors that have booths there. Here we got some time to look around. D and I decided to have a coffee and pastry. We got something called a Chocolate Triangle. It was much like a chocolate croissant but had a very light glaze with some chocolate sprinkles in one corner and a dusting of powdered sugar on the other two. The coffee was great and the triangle excellent. We always split these treats. I'd really be happy with just a bite. What I really want is to sample it, not necessarily eat the whole thing.
Seated next to us in the Granier Café were two American girls doing their "Semester in Europe". It was nice to hear the chitter-chatter of the two young Americans.
From Flower Square we walked through the narrow streets again to the La Taberna Flamenca La Cava. We are going to have tapas here and see my favorite style of flamenco dancing. Most flamenco historians believe that the dance was originated among the Gypsies of Southern Spain and in specific the city of Jerez de la Frontera, just a few miles from Cadiz. Just like the modern hotel style of the hula is descended from the much less stylish ritual dances of the Polynesian culture, modern flamenco is glitzier and more ornate that its original form. This taverna's performances are Gypsy inspired in the style of a juerga (an informal gathering where friends participate in the performance), much like the origins of the style. There are no fancy costumes, just very earthy, emotional and wonderful flamenco. There were two women dancers and one man, a guitarist, and a singer. When they were not singing or dancing everyone except the guitarists provided the palmas rhythms (various hand clapping tempos, often on the counterpoint and in opposition to each other) so essential to the music.
The tapas were cheese and cured ham with bread and the traditional Spanish omelet, eggs and potatoes. I really like the cured ham from all over Europe but the Italians, Spanish and Montenegrins seem to have the best. This opinion is based on a small sample so it's very open to question.
Our performer for the evening was Elio Pace. He's a singer/pianist and gave one of the highest energy shows we've seen this trip. He has a good voice and got the HALCats heavily involved in the music. He's a great entertainer.
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