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What should you expect in this unique saltmarsh tour in Cadiz for real foodies?
In this authentic saltmarsh tour in Cadiz you will understand the history and culture related to the salt, fish and the Bay of Cadiz natural park. In this private saltmarsh tour your group will understand how the Bay of Cadiz natural park has changed throughout history and how has it been exploited by the different civilizations. We will also understand the importance that the salt marshes have had in the last century and the importance of protecting it, thus also protecting the natural park in Cadiz.
This tour consists of a walk around the salt marsh and after, a salt marsh to table lunch. The walk will help us understand how it is maintained and the ecosystem services that it produces. In the lunch we will taste almost everything from the saltmarshes at our feet, a true Kilometer Zero!
The only limitation with this tour is that Juan Martin is a very busy man as he is working as the biologist of chef Angel Leon and Aponiente, which has 3 Michelin stars plus the green Michelin star of sustainability. Juan is an incredible person responsible for many of the groundbreaking things that Aponiente has been doing in the last years. He is the one that took Dan Barber to the saltmarshes so he could do the TED Talk, how I fell in love with a fish in this same region. Because of the above he only does the salt marsh tour in Cadiz by booking in advance for private groups of 10pax, or if the group is a bit smaller they have to pay for 10pax.
Saltmarsh tour in Bay of Cadiz natural park
If you are interested in learning about the region from Phoenician and Roman times to the more recent salting factory and current sustainable fish farm in Cadiz then join this saltmarsh tour in Cadiz.
Walk in the salt marshes of Cadiz
We will start the tour by listening to Juan, who is the biologist of Aponiente. He will explain about how the salt marshes in Cadiz where made by sedimentation and how they have been exploited by the different civilizations that inhabit Cadiz.
In the photo below we learn about how the fish enter this natural fish farm and thrive, all thanks to human intervention. Not only fish but many other species grow in this natural labyrinth in the Bay of Cadiz natural park, which we get to taste after.
In the last stages of these newly restored salt marshes we find the artisanal salt production pools. We will learn about the completely natural salt production, only by using the sun, gravity and human hands.
Juan would have put a trap the night before to show us the different species of seafood and fish that we find in this unique natural fish areas. He will show us other ecosystem services in the area and some of the problems that they are having with invasive species.
From the Salt marsh to the table food tour
Afterwards, we will go back to their home and taste the food that we saw and we have been talking about made by Isabel, Juan’s wife. Her food is amazing and international renowned chefs have tasted her food, as many of the chefs that have come to visit Angel Leon and Aponiente are taken to this salt marsh and Isabel has cooked for them. Traditional food and km-0 food, the full experience from the salt marsh to the table.
Adding on a visit to the white town of Vejer de la Frontera or a premium sherry tour in a family run bodega before the visit to the salt marshes
Before heading to the Bay of Cadiz natural park to do this incredible saltmarsh tour in Cadiz we can add a visit to one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, Vejer de la Frontera. It is a white town within the list of the most beautiful white towns in Spain. We can do a walking tour talking about its importance as a defensive fortification for the port of Barbate. Vejer de la Frontera is one of the towns in Andalusia with the strongest Arab influences in its design.
Or we can head to the sherry bodega nearby to do a premium tour of their sherry wines. This is another farm to table experience in Cadiz from the vineyard to your glass. We taste 6 wines unfiltered directly from the barrel. We start with a white wine from palomino, a fino en rama of 7 years old, amontillado over 30 years old, palo cortado around 60 years old, a 90 year old oloroso and finally a PX with over 50 years old. The scores of these wines in international wine magazines are incredible.
