Cádiz might be the only city yet to be discovered by tourists in Spain, so it still maintains the special atmosphere, decadent charm and profound happiness of a place that knows its beauty relays on simplicity and understated magnificence: stunning sunsets by the sea, simple meals based on fresh fish and long warm nights.
But during the last days of July this year, Cádiz port was full of people from all over the world celebrating the Tall Ship Races diamond anniversary event. The first Tall Ships’ Race in 1956 was a race of 20 of the world’s remaining large sailing ships. The race was from Torbay, UK to Lisbon and was meant to be a last farewell to the era of the great sailing ships. However, public interest was so intense the Sail Training International Race Committee formed a founding organisation and has since organised Tall Ships’ Races and Regattas annually around the world, attracting hundreds of ships and millions of spectators.
The event was a showcase of the world’s differences and the port of Cádiz remembered old times of splendour: from the happy crew in the Venezuela’s ship, playing loud music and cheering up the atmosphere to the silence and sobriety of the German ship, every ship and crew had its own personality. The public mingled with the crews, taking selfies (but of course!) and watched a sea of masts come to live.
Spectacular old sailing ships that epitomized the impressive art of crossing the seas and gave us a terrible wanderlust. Who hasn’t dreamed about long starry nights on the deck of a beautiful ship? The best views came when the sun was setting…
Next years’ tall ship race will be hosted by five ports across the Baltic Sea: Halmstad (Sweden), Kotka (Finland), Turku (Finland), Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Szczecin (Poland). So save the dates if you are in the area between June 30th and August 8th 2017. You might want to dance to the beat of the Venezuela’s crew!
Wow I have never heard of this event before! This looks awesome! I am so excited to go to Spain this spring! It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing :)
xx Annie
http://www.somethingswellblog.com/
It’s an amazing event and the ships are just beautiful. Where are you going in Spain? We are Spanish! let us know if you need any recommendations or tips, we’ll be glad to help!
Curiously, Cadiz was my first experience of Spain years & years ago. I really like it’s less touristed nature even though I have only been back less than a handful of times. That’s really interesting about the tall ships race. I didn’t know about it. Lovely pictures !
Thank you! It was a really photogenic event! We usually go to Cádiz every Summer. I think that the fact that it doesn’t have an airport (there are a couple quite close, but not really) has helped to keep the city for locals. However, it’s a wonderful destination!
Cadiz sounds like a charming place in Spain. Those tall ships look so majestic! Would have loved to watch the race!
Miriam
http://www.londonkitchendiaries.com
Cádiz is really authentic and has a strong personality. We love it! The race was fantastic, maybe you can catch the next one in the Baltic next year?