We had a beautiful sunny day to explore the nearby marina/port and then make our way along the coast to Sanluca de Barrameda.

We stopped at the port for coffee and a walk along the wall to the lighthouse.

We continued up to Chipiona to check out the beach. The provincia de Cadiz is blessed with beautiful long sandy beaches, probably some of the best since we left Galicia.

Sanlucar de Barrameda was busy. It was a Sunday so lots of Spanish families were out and about doing what they do best, getting together to eat, drink and chat. There was also some sort of band competition going on. We could hear it but could not get near it.

The Plaza del Cabildo was packed with people eating lunch and we were lucky to find a table.

We tried the regional dish of Tortillita de camarones which this area is famous for. Lots of tiny shrimp mixed whole into a batter it reminded me a little of our whitebait patties where you see all of those tiny eyes (Tasmanians will know what I am talking about). The batter mix is deep fried though.

We came across these large plaques (made from ceramica of course) which are about the Portuguese explorer Magallanes. In 1517 after his allegiance with the Spanish King one of his voyages sailed from Sanlucar de Barrameda. This whole region has strong links to explorers with Columbus’s first sailing from Huelva (Palos de la Frontera) his second and fourth from Cadiz and his third sailing from Sanlucar de Barrameda.

We stopped off at the glorious Playas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda which is where the famous Carreras de caballos de Sanlúcar is held each year. No horses today but a really beautiful beach and river.