At the far end of Cádiz at Playa de la Caleta, the city peters out into a long pier and the Atlantic Ocean. Wandering here at sunset, I came across a steel drum band playing, and an artist carefully tending his sand sculpture.

The sculpture has an amazing amount of detail, and depicts an octopus, coral, sharks, jellyfish, rays, fish, an old-fashioned diver, squid, turtles, shells, and the citadel of Cádiz.

This large and complex sand sculpture needs constant attention. It took 250 hours to construct from 22 tons of sand. Its materials are simply beach sand (from the surrounding sandy beach) and sea water.

Every day the artist uses 3,000 litres of water to refresh the sculpture, a task involving round-the-clock care. Water needs to be sprayed on the sculpture every hour during the day, and every two hours at night.

This sand sculpture is on the beach at La Caleta. More on Cádiz coming soon! Read this Lonely Planet article on the history of Cádiz and see more images.