Hello, how are you?
In the beautiful town of Castro Urdiales, on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea and only a few kilometers from Bilbao, walking through its streets after work is a marvel in the warmth of summer, with the sea breeze cooling us at the same time.
I really enjoy walking around Castro Urdiales and especially in the vicinity of its large church and lighthouse.
The church is in gothic style, situated on the cliff, dating back to the 12th-15th century, and the locals call it the Cathedral of Santa Maria, although it is not a cathedral in the strict sense of the word.
The Castro Urdiales lighthouse, as you can see, does not have the typical shape of a lighthouse, as it was originally a fortress to protect the port from the invasion of English and French ships many centuries ago.
As a coastal area, fishing has been the main activity for many years. Nowadays, anchovy fishing is the star, but many decades ago it was fishing for other marine animals, mainly whales.
Perhaps, whale fishing is the origin of the peculiar name of the cemetery and the main core of this post and of my last visit to Castro Urdiales.
Cemetery of the Whale (or of the cats)
In this town one of the special places is the cemetery, yes as you hear its cemetery, the so-called cemetery of the Whale, although I would rename it as the cemetery of the cats, and you will see throughout the post why I say so.
The Whale cemetery is listed as a site of cultural interest, and it is no wonder because of the high quality of the sculptures and also because of some striking pantheons.
This week was my second visit to this cemetery. I did it because, unlike the previous occasion, the day was a bit more cloudy, and I had the feeling that a cloudy sky would give me more time to play with my camera.
On this occasion, I also had more time to visit the place, and I was able to notice certain special niches and pantheons such as this one, which has intentionally broken part of the tombstone. The only thing missing was a hand sticking out of it to run away from the place.
But without a doubt, my favorite pantheon is still the one of the Sel family with It's imposing winged angel holding a crown and trumpet in his hands.
Egyptian iconography is seen in every corner, such as the obelisk near the angel and the tomb it guards.
But Egyptian iconography can also be seen in the scarabs on the tomb.
And also in the bird in the corners and as you can see this cute cat also likes this cemetery. At first, I was surprised to see a cat in the cemetery, but later you will see that it was nothing to be afraid of.
Continuing my walk through the cemetery, apart from the impressive angel, I could see that there were large cemeteries of high architectural quality.
For example, this pantheon where the tomb is on the roof. Curious placement of the dead instead of placing it inside the pantheon as is normally done.
In others, there is no pantheon, but there are tombs with engravings that are also a real work of art.
I was also impressed to see that many of the tombs date from 1899, so they are more than a hundred years old.
On my way out of the cemetery, I visited another of the pantheons that I like. With this man at the top. For some reason, it reminds me of some historical novel with an air of the Renaissance period.
But this is not all. When I was taking photos of some of the pictures in the garden area of the cemetery, I saw a big yellow cat that was not the one I had seen before. I was impressed by its size and how apparently calm it was, even when I approached it.
But I was even more surprised to see numerous cats.
Some of them were black, which they say is bad luck, but for me, they are my favorites.
And some of them were only a few weeks old. Strangely, they let me approach them without flinching.
That is why for me this is now the cemetery of the cats instead of the cemetery of the whale of Castro Urdiales.
Best regards.
