Cadiz, Spain – Day 4 Transatlantic Cruise

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

The Norwegian Pearl passed the thin pass at Gilbralter last night (it was dark so it was a non-event for passengers,) taking us from the Mediteranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. We had been slowly moving south but as we rounded Spain, we headed a bit north again. And back to chillier weather. The sky is a gorgeous blue with nary a cloud in the sky but the wind is whipping up white-caps outside the port. So we bundled up to walk around town.

We are docked at the Port of Cadiz for twelve hours today which, again, allowed for a leisurely start to the morning. The information station on the TV helped me realize that Cadiz is an island! Though, it is close enough to the mainland that there is a large bridge joining the two. Being an island may account for the 16 mph winds.

It is said that Cadiz is the oldest city in Spain as well as the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe.

Where is the Cathedral?

As soon as we took a short walk out of the port, we were in town. Our only set destination was to see the Cathedral. Gregg spotted it and led us in that direction. He would lose sight of it as we walked the narrow cobblestone streets. Then we’d come out at a plaza and he would get his bearings again.

One large plaza was in front of the beautiful Cadiz Town Hall, built in 1799.. The plaza was being decorated for Christmas and it was obvious that they would have a Christmas Market there soon. The feeling was already festive with a musician busking and people milling around.

The 16th century Cadiz Cathedral was not far away. It also had a large plaza in front of it which was being decorated for Christmas and a market as well. The building is beautiful. We decided that we wouldn’t purchase tickets to tour the inside. Instead, we went into an open 17th century church nearby, Church of Santiago, Cadiz.

Promenade Walk

Exiting the church, we could see open air up the street. Suspecting that meant the water’s edge, we headed that way and were rewarded with gorgeous views of the shore, city, and blue Atlantic water. There is a nice, wide prominade that follows the coast so we set off to just walk and enjoy being outside. This brought us to an old fort (?) and lighthouse further off shore.

We walked down the walkway to see San Sabastian Castle ruins. The tide was out and it smelled like “an old friend” as I used to say about returning to our neighborhood by the river in Cocoa. 😂 The rocks and sand and the water made for a lovely walk, though my face feels windburned this afternoon.

These Streets Were Made for Walking … AND Driving??

With nothing else on our to-see list, we headed back to the ship, or so we thought. Following the signs towards the Central Market, we took narrow streets which we thought were walking streets. As the day went on, we realized that cars squeeze through with the pedestrians and even manage to turn corners onto other streets! One Mercedes seemed bent on running Gregg over. Yikes! Thankfully, he escaped unscathed. I’ll pass on that driving experience, thank you very much.

Cadiz Dogs

Another side note I found interesting involved people walking their dogs. There is no grass, other than maybe a few parks with trees, in the city. The narrow area between the buildings is entirely covered with cobblestones and sidewalk tile. What is a dog to do? Well, it does what dogs do while their owner picks up their doo AND their owners carry a spray bottle to wash away the doggie pee. Brilliant! And I never saw an abandoned doggie Doo bag on the street. (Those always puzzle me at home.)

The Mercado Central in Cádiz

While wandering the streets, we happily came up on a covered market which we had heard about (but had forgotten.) It was obvious that this was the place for locals to shop for fresh seafood, meats, produce, bread, olives, and other items. It was fun to walk through, although quite stinky in my opinion. Like the fish market in Pittsburgh’s Strip District that I lured Bryn and Mardi into while turning around and staying outside. Haha!

There were booths selling clothes, purses, undergarments, and other things set up outside the market.

Walking in Circles

Gregg looked at Google Maps to get his bearings and off we continued to the ship. Imagine our surprise when we had walked and walked and popped out at … the covered market again! We had walked in a huge circle through the narrow alley-type streets. So, we laughed, looked at Google Maps again, and set out once more.

This time, after walking uphill streets (shouldn’t the water be downhill??) we turned, went downhill, and came out into a square where we could see a ship. Ah! We made it! In case you were worried, we still had around four hours to spare, so no anxiety was experienced in the adventure.

Laundromat Quandary

Gregg HAD found out this morning that our Norwegian Pearl ship does NOT have guest laundry facilities. The Princess ships we’ve been on all had areas for self-laundry and we had assumed this ship would be the same. While wandering through Cadiz, we saw several laundromats (or was it the same one we passed twice?) Once we finally found the port, we decided that, even with four hours, it wouldn’t be prudent to get our laundry and return to wash it. Now THAT may have caused me some anxiety.

We’ll either pay the ship to launder a few items later in the trip, or I’ll do some sink laundry. No worries or anxiety there, either.

Did Someone Say Scones?

We missed the main lunch buffet on ship so we got a muffaletta, scone, and a few other items at the outside buffet. We’ll eat a larger dinner – probably at the buffet, too. We’ve been pleased with the food we’ve selected at the buffet and we can decide our portion sizes there.

Tonight we head back north a tiny bit and tour Gilbralter tomorrow.