The seat of ancient Carthage, this Spanish port city is steeped in over 2,000 years of history. Start at the Naval Museum to learn more about the "City of Cultures", then set out to explore everything from Roman ruins right up to modern creations inspired by Gaudi.
7 November Sunday 1100 - 2000
Spain's Cartagena was founded by the Carthaginians in Tunisia, traders who focused their attention on Spain around 241 BC. They had to fight the Romans to keep it and expand it. The greatest man Carthage ever produced, Hannibal, started his attacks on Rome here. A large history of Carthage can be found here.
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O first - a walk from the ship to Calle Major, a shopping street that was a little crowded at 1130.
O found the crowds a little frantic, so he walked on. He bought a Cartagena lapel pin for his wife, which she appreciated. The entrance to the Roman Theater Museum is only a few feet up the street. O bought a ticket for 7 Euro and a English-speaking hearing device for 2.5 Euro.
The museum is a four-level building with artifacts on all levels. Finally at the top level you step out onto an upper level of the theater. O took pictures of many angles and of different items while reveling in the idea that he was standing where someone sat for entertainment 2,000 years ago.
The reconstruction of the Roman Theater is still on-going. More dirt must be removed from the seats and stairs. And who knows what else might be under it?
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In Plaza San Francisco, a full-bore orchestra was giving a concert. I was fortunate to catch the last ten minutes of it, and liked it.
Continuing downhill, I arrived next to the entry of the Theatre. It was getting warm in the sun, so I sat at a cafe in the shade with an Amstell. Joe Stepan, who we met in the arrival area of the cruise, came along and joined me.
We chatted briefly, then went on our way. I was headed back to the ship but stumbled onto the city's Tourist Bus.
For seven Euros, I jumped on and rode it for 50 minutes around town, learning more about the place.
Then we stopped at the cabin but went immediately to the Patio to get something to eat. We sat at the end of the patio almost onto the pool deck. The place was jammed, a tour just having returned. Tin ok'd a table for us. We ordered hamburgers and waited through two glasses of wine to get them. But while we waited we chatted with Ryan and Kristie from Frederick MD on all sorts of things - Long Island, cruising, MD/VA, and so forth. But D was getting sunburned so we moved into the shade, and staff finally brought the burgers.
We collapsed in the cabin for an hour or so, then went to dinner in Windows. Good English fare tonight, quite good. Anna the head of waiting staff (with us on the covid cruise) came along and chatted with us. She was lucky in getting off the ship back to Poland quickly after the shut-down.
Then the show "Sail Away" came onto the stage so we watched that. Very nice performance, lots of dancing and singing.
Then we died and went to bed.
