Cadiz is on the Atlantic coast of Spain. It has an ancient walled city section which is near the port and a newer section that includes a very clean and tidy beach area which was nearly deserted.
The weather was gorgeous. I really didn't expect to see a beach there. If I had, I would have been on it. Instead I turned my ankle on a step that kind of began from out of nowhere and when I fell, the side of my face near my eyebrow hit the cement, and my sunglass were totally smashed. There was a lot of blood.
Some people gathered around to help but no one spoke English and I didn't know Spanish. I hobbled into a fancy hotel that was nearby and washed up in the ladies room. The desk clerk suggested that I should go to the hospital which is apparently free in Spain.
I limped back out, still bleeding, but with some paper towels pressed to my head. A couple of little old ladies came up and each took one of my elbows and they walked me to the hospital. I waited there for two hours and became concerned that I wouldn't make it back to the ship on time. So I hobbled on out of there and found a taxi stand.
When I got back to the ship the ship's doctor gave me 5 stitches and I had a black eye for about two weeks. I'm not too happy about the scar, but it is exactly next to my eyebrow so I guess it's not too hideous. I was really amazed at all of the people who helped me that day. And grateful.
Cadiz is definitely on my list of places to return to one day.
