Celebration Time in Cartegena

Cartagena

Silver Spirit arrived at the port of Cartagena in southeastern Spain shortly before 9 am, Saturday, May 3.  SilverSea relatively recently added Cartagena as a stop on its Mediterranean itineraries.  Our friends Dave and Ellen had stopped at Cartagena on a cruise they took in 2013 and reported that it was an interesting town so we looked forward to exploring the city on our own.

Michael and I Start our Morning Exploration

Cartagena was founded from Carthage in 227 BC.  It was famous in antiquity as the place from which Hannibal set out, in 218 BC, with his army including his elephants, crossing the Pyrenees Mountains before narrowly failing to conquer Rome.  The Romans conquered Cartagena ten years later and ruled the area for the next four hundred years.  With the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, Vandals, Visigoths and finally Moors (Moslems) invaded Cartagena over the course of several hundred years.  From the eighth century AD on, various Islamic Caliphates held the area until 1245 AD when Alfonso X of Castile conquered Cartagena and established Christian rule. 

The port became an important naval base in the eighteenth century and served as the main base for the navy of the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s. Ultimately, the Republicans lost to General Franco.  The city is still filled with ruins from that war
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We saw no sign of Cartagena’s Carthaginian heritage.  In recent years, archeological excavations have unearthed most of the Roman theater and various other Roman era ruins. Some, such as the Roman Baths, are in various stages of excavation.  The Roman theater and the 14^th century castle have been extensively restored.  Michael and I decided to check out the various archeological relics. 

Some of our Fellow Passengers Took a Segway Tour of Cartagena.

Partially Excavated Roman Baths

Remains of Roman Road and Excavation of Domus de la Fortuna, A Roman Residence

 

The Roman Theater - Cathedral Ruin Over Part of the Seating

Modern Amphitheater Partway Up the Hill Overlooks Ancient Theater

The ruins of a cathedral, bombed in the civil war, sit partially over the western part of a very large Roman amphitheater.  Two thirds of the way up the adjacent hill, the modern public ampetheater, wired for light and sound, awaited a performance. My picture of the two make an interesting contrast.

Silver Spirit from the Castle - The Ship Docked Almost in the Center of the Town.

Peacock on Castle Grounds

View of the Freestanding Elevator and the Ruin of the Bullring

After climbing  to the castle atop the hill and enjoying the views, we found an unusual freestanding elevator to take us down.  The Silver Spirit had docked a short walk from the center of town so it was easy to head back to the ship for lunch before venturing out in the afternoon for more exploration.  

Decorating the Doorway to the Cathedral - Observation Platform and Route to Roman Theater Above Door.

We noticed some sort of festival being organized during our morning walk.  People were setting up long tables at bar height on numerous side streets.  Barrels of beer were being delivered all across the town; stages were set up in various streets and alleys.   Citizens were decorating the entrance to the ruined cathedral with flowers.
 

After 2 pm the citywide party got going.  Michael and I went back ashore and found the locals celebrating their annual local saint and Roman heritage festival.  The celebration involved very loud music, energetic dancing, and consumption of quantities of food and drink.  Many of the people, from toddlers to older folks, were dressed in traditional clothing.  Everyone seemed to know the words and the dance moves to go with the music.  We had a great time watching them have a good time.

Revelers Relaxing in a Square

Two Youngsters Practicing the Local Spanish Dance

Some of the Costumes were Elaborate

Everyone Dances

Silver Spirit sailed at 6:00 pm, long before the height of the festivities.  It would have been fun to see the streets lit up after dark and, perhaps, eat some of the delicious looking paella we saw as it cooked.

Paella

Child Chasing a Pigeon

A Curious Time in Malaga

Malaga

Silver Spirit arrived in the harbor at Malaga following two days at sea after leaving Ponta Delgada.  I finished reading another book, attended some more cooking demonstrations and sat in the sun in a sheltered area around the ship’s pool.  Each day was cool but comfortable in the sun.  Soon enough, the lazy days of the crossing were over. We were in Europe.

One evening at sea, we had dinner with Captain Pontillo, the Captain of the Silver Spirit.  He told us that this Atlantic crossing was much calmer than the past three he had made on Silver Spirit.  We were fortunate to have had relatively good weather.  We also discovered that Silver Whisper, the ship we were joining in Lisbon in a week’s time, was going to be in port in Malaga at the same time as the Silver Spirit. 

 Michael and I hatched a plan and got it approved at the highest levels (the Hotel Director) to transfer half of our luggage from Silver Spirit to Silver Whisper while the two ships were in the same port.  This saved us the hassle and the cost of flying two of our suitcases from Barcelona to Lisbon. It turned out that this wasn't a simple operation.

Silver Spirit arrived at the pier in Malaga, Spain just as the sun rose over the eastern hills.  As usual, Michael and I were on the first shuttle bus to town. Silver Spirit had docked at the new cruise terminal a mile away from the port gate so a shuttle was needed.   

For some reason the free Wi-Fi at the cruise terminal was turned off so our first stop was at the McDonalds nearest the port entrance to check our e-mails. A short time later, we began exploring the old part of Malaga near the port. I was impressed that the old parts of Malaga, as well as Cartagena and Valencia are all paved in polished marble tiles.  One of the evidences for Spain's economic malaise is the prevalence of chewing gum  blotches on the beautiful paving. Another is that most people appeared to be employed in tourism or in government jobs.

We stopped by the cathedral and admired the exterior then we moved on to the ancient Roman Amphitheater.  We walked around the amphitheater, read the informative signs, and decided not to visit the museum highlighting Roman artifacts and Malaga's Roman history.  Michael and I did pay 60 Euro cents each (senior rate) for admission to the Alcazaaba, a Moorish era fortress that has been extensively restored.

Malaga is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded by the Phoenicians about 770 BC, and from the 6th century BC, Malaga was under the control of Ancient Carthage. From 218 BC, the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire ruled the region.  After the fall of the Roman empire, Malaga came under Islamic domination for 800 years.  In 1487, it came under Christian rule in the Reconquista.  Archaeological remains and monuments from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian eras all coexist in the historic center of the city. 

I had read that the Alcazaba was a ruin of a Moorish fort that had been erected on top of Roman ruins.  I had not expected it to be as spectacular and complete as we found it.  One could see, especially near the entrance, that the fort had been constructed using older materials on the site.  Michael and I climbed beautifully landscaped paths, passed through well-tended gardens and saw restored pavilions that were very reminiscent of those I saw in Grenada in 2012.  This old fort was neither as elaborate nor as extensive as the Alhambra in Grenada but it was beautiful in its own way.  I think we spent almost three hours climbing around the parts open to the public before hiking back to our ship.

We approached Silver Spirit just in time to witness the show put on by two SilverSea vessels when they encounter each other in port.  Silver Whisper entered the harbor and tooted loudly as it moved past the docked Silver Spirit.  Spirit’s bridge crew responded with their own lengthy series of hoots.  This back and forth went on for almost ten minutes while the arriving Silver Whisper made its way past us to a berth in the inner harbor.  Michael and I were excited, to see the arrival of the Whisper, not just another SilverSea ship, but also our ride for the second part of our double cruise.

The transfer of out bags turned out to be trickier than we had imagined.  Both hotel directors were involved and our butler, Neil, personally escorted the luggage between ships assuring that it never officially entered Spain. Had the ships been docked side by side the transfer would have been simple. As it was, the ships were a mile apart and Neil escorted our luggage to Silver Whisper using the shuttle bus. The Silver Whisper  was on a private charter and so did not allow visitors, but we managed to accompany our luggage to the Whisper’s terminal and watched it go on board in the keeping of our trusty butler.

Sunrise in Malaga as Silver Spirit Docked

Public Art

Street Scene Near the Cathedral

Tourists in a Small Plaza near the Amphitheater

The Roman Amphitheater

Gardens at the Alcazaba

A Palace, Now a Museum

Archetectural Detail

Inner Courtyard, Alcazaba Palace

Telephoto Shot of the Bullring, From the Alcazaba

Malaga's Beach

Silver Whisper, On its Way to the Inner Harbor, Much Tooting was Going On

Our Trusty Butler, Neil, Moving Our Luggage

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Michael and I were a bit wistful as we left Malaga at 7 pm watching Silver Whisper with half of our luggage disappear in the distance.

Ponta Delgada in the Fog

Azores, Sao Miguel

Silver Spirit made the trip to Ponta Delgada, only a few hundred miles from Horta, overnight.  Michael and I had signed up for an excursion to two lakes in a volcanic crater, the only excursion we made on this part of our cruise.   

Ponta Delgado is a larger, more modern city than Horta, without as much charm.   Our Range Rover convoy drove through the city to the northern end of the island.  We were supposed to look at and drive around the green lake and the blue lake in the volcano crater.   In light drizzle and fog, we saw only grey clouds in front of us at the prime viewpoint.  We drove over narrow, sandy roads with clouds on either side.  Had it been clear, we would have seen the ground drop away on either side; one side was ocean, the other the volcano crater.  We were traveling along an unseen volcanic rim.   

We stopped for, what I thought was much too long at a tiny town by the Blue Lake.  I took lots of fog pictures.  We did not actually see a lake until much later.

Toward the end of the tour, the clouds lifted somewhat at the lower elevations and we did actually see part of the Blue Lake.  As soon as we began to climb out of the caldera, the fog closed in again.

View From the Scenic Overlook

Driving Along the Volcano Rim

Church at Sete Cidades,Town in Volcano Crater

Blue and White Portuguese Tiles, Church Interior

Gladiola in Churchyard

Many of the Houses in Sete Cidades had Tile Icons Over their Front Doors

Michael and Me at a Park on Blue Lake

The Fog Starts to Lift as we Start Back to Ponta Delgada

Graffiti as Street Art on a Building in Ponta Delgada

Street in the Old Town of Ponta Delgada

Historic Plaza in Ponta Delgada

The guides did their best to entertain us tourists even taking us on a drive through the city on our way back to the pier.  While the tour was not a complete bust, I saw more of the scenery on Google Earth than from the Range Rover.  The short stay at Ponta Delgada was long enough to not see all of the sights.