Day 13 - Cartagena, Spain

Cartegena, Spain.  From our balcony.

Today we reached the Continent of Europe.  Also, it was the FIRST day we had to set an alarm all trip.  And we'll have to each of the next several days, so I may need to talk to my boss about not getting my full vacation what with these alarms in the morning!  We hit our restuarant for breakfast.  Theresa decided to be "healthy" by getting a "buckwheat pancake".  I think I've had buckwheat before, but whatever this thing was...please never again!!  It has the texture of one of those rubber mats one uses to open jars.  And it soaked up the butter and syrup about as well, as one of those too.  Impermeable.  Flavor?  That couldn't break in either.  It was as tasty as a spatula.  We're not doing THAT again!  (or so we think!)

We had actually been to Cartegena once before, and there were a few nice things to do in walking distance, so we eschewed the ship tours and took off on foot.  The sweater we bought for Bill (with unused suite credits) came in handy as it was chilly and windy!

There are (apparantly) four Saints associated with Cartegena.

And this one corner has each of them in a box(?) looking at each other.

Finished in 1907, they spared most expenses on the OUTSIDE!

We started with 10AM Mass in a Basilica.  It was a beautiful church.  After Mass, we spent a little quiet time, which was distracted by the three police officers filing in and heading to the back.  Several minutes later, they were back, as well as an extension ladder, some maintenance guys, and a whole lot of chiefs directing things.  For some reason, they were changing the adornment of the statue with Mary and Jesus (specifically Mary’s pierced heart and crown).  It was a whole ordeal.  This guy sets the ladder against the plinth, and heads up.  He grabs Statue Jesus’ arm to hold on (kind of wrong, and also not wrong), and then gets on.  He is precarious in every spot except behind the statue.  There is no chance you could do this in the US without fall protection and a host of other OSHA things.  But, we’re in Spain.  Anyway, getting things situated was interesting.  The Priest was having things straightened out.  Then it seemed some elderly church lady had input.  20 minutes later, it was about over and the crown they removed was whisked away, and two more police officers arrived.  They seemed to be guarding to prevent anyone trying to steal the jeweled crown.

Inside the basillica was MUCH prettier!

Hmmm...police?

Yeah, that seems safe!!

Handing off the Halo and Crown.

Before...

After.  Crown, Heart, Lace.

Decumano Maximo, the main Roman road through "Nova Carthego"

The ruins of the original city walls pre-Roman era.

After that fun, we headed to a museum for the Punic wall.  Short history lesson.  The Phoenicians spread out across the southern side of the Mediterranean, establishing colonies along the way, including Carthage.  The city of Carthage is a little (20 miles?) to the southwest of Tunis.  The Carthaginians then spread across including Qart Hadasht (now Cartagena, Spain) which they founded about 227 BC, as it had a great port and bay.  Later they found lead and silver and set up mines.  The Romans had other ideas and went to war with Carthage (Punic Wars).  In the 2^nd or 3^rd Punic War, they took the city and renamed it Nova Carthego.  Now we know it as Cartegena.  Anyway, the city was built with good defenses (except when the Romans got by them).  It was interesting.  Later, some monks set up in about 1500s, and they had a burial crypt right in the same spot as the old wall.

A crypt from about 1500s.

"Modern" (like 200-300 years ago) fortress walls.

MODERN defensive ...wall?

Our ship.  Our balcony is that one...look down from the center
logo at the top, over three rooms, and just above the one with
the open door (but left of the circle).

Historied out, we headed back for lunch.  On the buffet, we found Guinness and Corned Beef…and spaghetti, a salad for some reason, and etc.  We followed that with a trivia bit which we tied for first, and won the tie-breaker.  So, we got two (rather cheap) bags.  We had already won another previously, so now we have three.  There is a good chance one is being offered to Theresa’s Mom.  But don’t tell her…she’ll be surprised. 😊

Irish drinks and cards.

We then went for coffee and they had Irish themed coffees so, sure!  Add a deck of cards and we played Euchre for a bit.  Up to the room and Theresa sat on the balcony watching some “training” unfold.  We couldn’t exactly tell if this was an open sea survival training or a Synchronized Swimming for the WINTER Olympics!

Sail away was to be on the top deck.  But we hung out on our own balcony and enjoyed it perhaps as much.

Uhhh...what is happening here?

Oh, I see, we're going swimming?

Anyone else think that's the Teletubby Po?

Outta the way, canoe coming through!

What is GOING on down there??

It's synchonized swimming, right?  Right??

Setting sail!

We had to snake between the two light houses.

Not sure why the server wanted in on our pic?

For dinner we had reservations at the Japanese “Hot Pot”.  They put broth in a pan in the center of the table, you choose noodles, protein/vegetables, and then basically make yourself a soup like ramen.  So, it was as good as you make it.  We actually liked it, and would do again.  Though we would limit the food, as there was WAY too much!

Oh, gee.  How pretty.  So many lights.

The evening's entertainment was a show in the Sanctuary deck (for Sanctuary guests).  It was a great idea!  With the best of intentions!  What could POSSIBLY go wrong???  Well, it was under 60F, windy as heck, and getting dark and colder.  So everyone was cold.  They kept trying to bring blankets, but even the singer and drummer were wrapped in blankets and looking unhappy...trying, but not really looking like it was fun.  So, when it finally ended, we headed down, got Theresa a hot chocolate and Bill a Jamesons, and wrapped up the night.

Whose idea was this???

Good Night!