Cartagena

We spent Saturday in Cartagena, Spain, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The entire city! That’s because the Romans built their city of New Carthage right here on the shores of the Mediterranean in the third century B.C. Good location before the straits of Gibralter and all. And then the Moors built their city and then the Spaniards built their city... one right on top of the others. So we went walking through them all.

Fortunately, the weather was also a lot more comfortable —>Sunny. 🌞👍

We pulled into our dock right in the center of town, which made it very easy to get to the sights.

This is the view from the back patio:

There is a wide pedestrian street on the left. See that red and yellow Spanish flag?....that’s the start of the street. Filled with shops, restaurants, and beautiful architecture.

All along the route we found a variety of ruins; the 7000 seat amphitheater:

Which you may have noticed is/was built right in the middle of the city. When they first started to restore it in 1991, they had to remove several apartment buildings that were on top. It is now fully exposed, and the acoustics are amazing. One can hear quiet conversation all the way from the top to the bottom. As Tom demonstrated for us.

We also visited the Forum, which is still on
ly partly excavated, although there are some lovely colored murals and mosaics in a few buildings. Also, this was the site of the public baths, with both hot and cold water.

Lastly, we ventured to the top of the hill for a panoramic view over the city, before returning to our ship.

Tomorrow we visit the island of Mallorca.