Cartagena, Spain (Itinerary)

The sunrise was astern as we sailed toward Cartagena, Spain. We wouldn't arrive until 10am.

The pilot boat hurries out to greet us.

A fortified wall built into the side of the rocky coast next to the harbor.

The Eurodam, a much large Holland America ship, was already in port. We were not looking forward to sharing this small town port with Eurodam's 2,100 passengers, but they'd already disbursed and we still found places that were not crowded.

 
A huge bunker is built into the side of this hill. From the ship, this town looked like one with many contrasts.

 
The marina held some very nice old wooden schooners.

The street performers were already working. This guy in the silver suit had no head to hang his hat on, so it just hung in the air...

 
We like the way this old building was saved and incorporated into a new one. As usual we climbed and climbed.

 
Beautiful lavender...

A giant poster explains the restoration of Soledad St. and the surrounding neighborhood.

 
Built in the 18th century, this altar remains today.

 
We could only catch a glimpse of the robot mural from the street level, but when we gained altitude, we could see the whole whimsical image.

   
A wall where a building had been removed, but the tile work and plaster was still in place. We found a similar tile not far away.

 
We wondered whether this sculpture is still in process.

 
We continued climbing up the roads and alleys and eventually we came to the top. More lavender up here.

 
This snail shell was on a rusted beam over looking a restaurant below. Don't jump...

A man outstanding in his field.

Don't you just love these drought-tolerant Mediterranean landscapes?

Calle de San Juan, street sign tile.

 
We were back down near the ship's dock. There was a recruitment fair for the Spanish Navy and Marines taking place on this square with the well-muscled sculpture.

 
At the Naval Museum, the back end of an old submarine...

and a cardboard helicopter.

 
We went upstairs from the Naval Museum to find a Polytechic University with this elaborate shade structure in the central courtyard.

Up another level we looked down on the shaded courtyard. There were a few students working up here. Very nice waterfront digs.

One last look at the portside fortifications of Cartagena as we sailed out. This had been an interesting stop for us and we managed to see many parts of the city without running into masses of cruise ship passengers. Nice!
Dean's Log: Cartagena

Next up another Spanish port town, Málaga.