April 15, 2024

We are lucky to be on a small ship because we can travel on the Guadalquivir river to the center of the city instead of docking in Cadiz which is about 2 hours from the city. On our way we passed fish farms and small towns.

Leslie told us about how lucky we are to be here during Feria de Abril (April Fair). It’s one of the most famous and lively festivals in the country. It usually takes place two weeks after Easter. The fairgrounds are filled with rows of casetas (tents) where people gather to eat, drink, dance, and socialize. Traditional Andalusian music, flamenco dancing, and horse parades are also highlights of the festival. The women typically wear colorful flamenco dresses, and the men dress in traditional Spanish attire. It’s a vibrant celebration of Andalusian culture and heritage.
More than 1 million people attend each year.

We didn’t have a tour scheduled and were so happy that we didn’t. We walked from the ship to the fairgrounds and saw many horse carriages, gauchos and women dressed in Spanish finery. The men wore jackets and ties. And it was 88 degrees!

And one very tiny car.

We were almost overwhelmed by the more than 1000 casetas at the fair. They belong to local families, groups of friends, businesses, clubs, trade associations and political parties. Most of the casetas are private and open only to members and their guests. We stopped at the information booth where a very well informed guide gave us a map of the fair and told us where the public casetas were.

So we started on a walk around the fair. We stopped at one caseta (they all have security guards outside) and were told it was a private one. We started to walk away when a man inside invited us in. We got a drink and noticed the group of pictures featuring bullfighters.

The man who invited us in indicated that he was a former bullfighter and that his picture was on the wall. He asked me to find his picture, and I did! He posed for a picture with me near the photo.

We spent quite a while walking through the fair and admiring the horses and people. They have a large amusement area there too.

After we were pretty hot and tired , we decided to walk to the river and have dinner at a restaurant along the river that was highly recommended by the friendly guide at the fair.

We enjoyed the sights along the way.

The restaurant was Betis7. We ate on the rooftop overlooking the river. What a delicious meal! We took all of the server’s recommendations and were not disappointed. A tuna and tomato salad followed by a type of fish like a shark, marinated in oil, vinegar and spices and lightly coated with flour and fried like a tempura.

Olives, mojitos and wine were a great accompaniment. The dessert was a torrija, like a French toast with flavored whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, famous here. It is served with a glass of caramel vodka. Amazing.

All of the desserts looked pretty wonderful. We went with the traditional.

We took a taxi back to the ship and just relaxed after a fascinating, hot and tiring day. Tomorrow we will go into the city on the shuttle and try to find fast WiFi since my last two posts wouldn’t upload on the ship. Oh, and there was a movie with popcorn on the ship. It’s all about the popcorn!😃