  [Abridged] The magnetic and kinematic properties of the photospheric Evershed
flow are relatively well known, but we are still far from a complete
understanding of its nature. The evolution of the flow with time, which is
mainly due to appearance of velocity packets called Evershed clouds (ECs), may
provide information to further constrain its origin. Here we undertake a
detailed analysis of the evolution of the Evershed flow by studying the
properties of ECs. In this first paper we determine the sizes, proper motions,
location in the penumbra, and frequency of appearance of ECs, as well as their
typical Doppler velocities, linear and circular polarization signals, Stokes V
area asymmetries, and continuum intensities. High-cadence, high-resolution,
full vector spectropolarimetric measurements in visible and infrared lines are
used to derive these parameters. We find that ECs appear in the mid penumbra
and propage outward along filaments with large linear polarization signals and
enhanced Evershed flows. The frequency of appearance of ECs varies between 15
and 40 minutes in different filaments. ECs exhibit the largest Doppler
velocities and linear-to-circular polarization ratios of the whole penumbra. In
addition, lines formed deeper in the atmosphere show larger Doppler velocities,
much in the same way as the ''quiescent'' Evershed flow. According to our
observations, ECs can be classified in two groups: type I ECs, which vanish in
the outer penumbra, and type II ECs, which cross the outer penumbral boundary
and enter the sunspot moat. Most of the observed ECs belong to type I. On
average, type II ECs can be detected as velocity structures outside of the spot
for only about 14 min. Their proper motions in the moat are significantly
reduced with respect to the ones they had in the penumbra.
