Spanish Journey Part Two
5. Cape Trafalgar

Narrator
This is the Costa de la Luz, which many consider to have the most beautiful beaches in the South. This coastline has held lighthouse keeper Juan Martínez in its spell for many years, even though the Spanish have tried to erase an embarrassing historical incident from their collective memory.

Inka Martí
Juan, since when have you been a lighthouse keeper?

Juan Martínez 
I have been a lighthouse keeper since 1979. That is as long ago as…right, on 1st May it was the 19th anniversary.

Inka Martí
What led you into this, let us say, symbolic profession?

Juan Martínez 
Mainly my love for the sea. For me the sea feels like... I've always lived next to the sea, my childhood and so on. Whenever I was drawn away – because I lived in Madrid and Granada - there was always a vacuum in my life. And then, as I ran away from the big city, it led me to think about what drew me away and what could draw me near the sea again and that's how I ended up as a lighthouse keeper.

Inka Martí
What does this wild and endless coastline mean for you?

Juan Martínez 
I know every inch of the Spanish coastline from lighthouse to lighthouse. If you get looking at it you realise that the Cadiz coastline is probably the most untouched left in the country and so on. Then, it is a real marvel, the Cadiz coastline.

[music]

Inka Martí
And furthermore you are in one of the legendary lighthouses, for it was here that the Battle of Trafalgar took place.

Juan Martínez 
Yes, it is a legendary site, mainly for the English; for the Spanish it has the reputation of being accursed, if anything, for the same reason - the Battle of Trafalgar. But it is without doubt a place that features in naval history, the Trafalgar lighthouse.

Inka Martí
For the first time in my life I'm standing in front of a lighthouse light, and it is like a huge jewel.

Juan Martínez 
Yes, that is what it is, a huge jewel, as you say - I've been living underneath it for 19 years and being underneath a lighthouse makes me feel very protected. It is a precious jewel for me too.

Inka Martí 
Juan, thanks very much for letting me visit such a privileged spot.

Juan Martínez  
Thanks to you.

[music]