March 20, 2014 WALKS IN HISTORY: Sailing to Cádiz Story & photos by J.A. Pilares
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Rota as seen from Cádiz
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or most of Human history, the easiest way to travel and to trade large amounts of goods was by sea. Ships helped people move swiftly and cheaply across distances that horses, oxen or other beasts of burden could not match in speed. Rota, having a natural harbour, is no exception. During the Middle Ages sailors from Rota where a common sight in the waters from the Cape of Saint Vincent in Portugal to Gibraltar, and even on the African coast as far south as Casablanca.These seamen dedicated themselves to fishing and trading, exporting Rota's agricultural products; although it was not uncommon for these vessels to prey on other shipping as either pirates or privateers.There are even records of a Rota mayor organising a private campaign to raid Morocco's coast in the XV century, in search of loot, slaves and to free enslaved Christians. However, today we are not going to tell tales of pirates and slave-ships. Rather we will be discovering the unsung stories of the vessels that linked Rota and Cádiz before roads, trucks and cars eased communications across the Bay. The earliest record we have of vessels trading between Rota and Cádiz can be found in the Church archives, which point out that the 30th of August, 1741 a ship of a certain Juan Laínez put out to sea at daybreak loaded with agricultural products and thirty-four passengers... sadly, she went down because of the unpredictable winds and only twelve people made in back to port. However, most of the elders in Rota remember from their youth another, luckier, vessel “el barco de la hora”, that is: the hour-ship. “El barco de a hora” was a “falucho”, a miniature galley with a single lateen sail displacing about 100 metric tones and able to carry about sixty people. Faluchos were widely used in most of Spain's coastline for most civilian tasks imaginable and even as coast guards.These sturdy and reliable ships could sail the six nautical miles to Cádiz in
Entrance to the Naval Base
Putting into Cádiz
about an hour, hence the name; although this time would depend on the weather and the tides. The falucho would ship out at about nine in the morning, and the fare for passengers in the 1940's was of 5 pesetas. In today's money that is just €0'03, but consider that the daily wages at the time were usually under 15 pesetas! There was also a cargo ship, aptly named “barco de la carga”; that one usually put out at midday and could hold about sixty tonnes of cargo. Many faluchos served as “barco de la hora” or “de la carga” over the years, and many names are remembered by those that sailed to Cádiz for business or pleasure:“Isabel”, “Abanico”, “Sapo”, “Margarita”... During the 1940's the Government dedicated itself to building modern roads, which made overland travel easier and faster than sailing for the first time in Rota's history. The cargo ship went out of use in the early 50's, and the “barco de la hora” followed suit, making the 21th of September, 1957, its final voyage. From then on, it would be roads and railways that would link Rota and Cádiz. It was not until 1989 that someone tried to put a remedy to this situation with a modern ship, a Hovercraft. The ship's maiden voyage to Cádiz was the 22 of November, full of politicians. One of these politicians had had the brilliant idea of getting an old and worn out ship, which meant that the return trip from Cádiz would also be its last. The hovercraft was left to rot in El Rompidillo beach for a few years until it became clear that it was useful only as scrap. In the late 90's a new attempt was made to establish a passenger line with the hydrofoil Astaroth. I remember going to and from Cádiz as a child on it the summer of 1996... but winter came, tourists stopped using it and the company stopped operations. In 2006 the public sector stepped in. Rota's sea com-
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munications with Cádiz were considered a must-have and so the “Consorcio de Tranportes Bahía de Cádiz”, the same public company that manages the coaches linking up all the towns on the Bay, began operating a catamaran for passengers for four daily trips.Tickets cost €5'10, although with the travel card the price is reduced to €3'80, the trip takes under 40 minutes. Just last Tuesday I took the “cat” to Cádiz to visit a museum and spend the morning there, and I can swear it is worthwhile. It is worthwhile because Cádiz is one of those cities that seem to be designed to be sailed into, not driven into. Just like Lisbon, Venice, Rio de Janeiro or New York, Cádiz is a city that is unremarkable when one drives there overland, but that welcomes sailors with open arms. The shoals surrounding the island-city force ships to sail around the city walls at a short distance from land, instead of taking the fastest route to the harbour; which gives you more time to contemplate the parks by the sea, the castles and batteries defending the walls, the churches and their bell towers where monks and laymen would thank God for every ship arriving safely to port... And once inside the harbour, Cádiz' three most significant monuments -the Cathedral, the City Hall and the monument to the Constitution of 1812- face the traveller as his little catamaran struggles to find docking space amongst the cargo ships and the massive ocean liners. There is no need to trouble one's head finding parking space. No time to waste trying to find your way. The catamaran just leaves you at Plaza de Sevilla, across the street from the City Hall where you can simply let the flow take you effortlessly to the Cathedral and allow yourself to get lost in the oldest city of the West. But one is never truly lost for long in Cádiz, the sea surrounds the city with a loving embrace, so if you can't find your way simply walk in a strait line and the sea will guide you back wherever you wish. As the poet from El Puerto de Santamaría, Rafael Alberti, put it in his book “Marinero en tierra” -Sailor on shore-: “El mar, La mar. El mar ¡Sólo la mar! ¿Porqué me trajiste, padre, a la ciudad? ¿Porqué me desterraste del mar? En sueños, la marejada me tira del corazón. Me lo quisiera llevar. Padre ¿porqué me trajiste acá? -Rafael Alberti
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