Pandemic Diaries - Mediterranean Cruise - Cartagena, Spain

6 November 2022 – Cartagena, Spain

 

Wow, what an exciting and fun-filled day!  The ship didn’t arrive in Cartagena until 11 AM, so it was a nice slow Sunday kind of a day.  But we managed to walk over 4 miles, and saw all sorts of interesting sites and events!

 

I met up with L, my new friend, and we waved to her mother up on the quarantine deck.  She had a balcony, and was out enjoying the fresh air.  Obviously feeling better!

 

Then we headed out.  Our plan was to walk by the ancient Roman theatre, walk over to the modern art museum which is located in an old palace, and then go over to some other archaeological sites in the middle of this mid-sized city.

 

Plans are always subject to change, of course.  Because things sometimes just magically appear or happen across one’s path.

 

We saw some kind of boat race in the harbor, crew teams in a different boat than we’re used to in the US.  There was someone on a loudspeaker giving a running commentary of the race.  We also saw some people wearing triathlon tee shirts, so there may have been something like that going on, we don’t know.  (There’s a university near the harbor in Cartagena, but we don’t know if these sports events were from the university or not.)

 

And in the background, a band was playing, getting louder and louder, as if a parade was approaching.  We decided to investigate the band or parade, leaving the triathlon and boat race behind. 

 

There was an old car, maybe from the 1910s or 20s, with a few passengers.  People in rather old-fashioned dress, men in suits and top hats, a few with sashes or full military garb.  Women in long dresses circa 1890 to 1920, with varying hemlines, embellished hats, and coordinating parasols.  These people were walking down the street behind the very slow car.  And the band was marching behind, men in matching white uniforms playing various brass instruments.  They were followed by young people in the same sort of uniforms, all carrying drums wrapped in black velvet with gold fringe, drumming along with the horns. 

 

We followed them for a bit, but then decided to visit the Roman theatre.  There was a museum with a line waiting to enter, the entry ticket included being able to walk around within the theatre.  We opted for the free plan, talking side streets to the back of the museum and looking at this ancient theatre through a fence.  It was in remarkably good shape, with part of the backdrop or stage set still standing.  Really gorgeous, I hope they still hold performances there!

 

Nearby, we found a mural and garden modeled after traditional ancient Roman gardens.  It really was lovely, with marbled-lined squares full of flowers, and paths between the flower beds.  It was a little green oasis in this neighborhood.

 

Wandering down the street, we found our costumed paraders again.  We followed along with this group for a while, trying to figure out what was going on.  Overhearing one of the men talking to someone on the street, in normal clothing, we pieced together that this was a group that periodically gets together and does this to celebrate various periods in the town’s history.  It wasn’t a holiday, nor a reenactment of any particular event.  Just a group of friends celebrating Cartagena, Spain, in the 1890s to 1920s or so.

Okay then!

 

This group of paraders had gathered near a small café or bar, but they walked on down the road.  By now, I was ready for some lunch, and this little place smelled good.  I asked to see the menu, which looked intriguing, and it turned out to be an absolutely amazing place to eat! 

 

I ended up ordering a variety of tapas for my lunch.  I started with something called a bicicletta, and yes, that is Spanish for bicycle.  It was a breadstick-like dough baked into a skinny U shape, with a healthy portion of tuna salad on top.  Yum, quite tasty!  I also had a tostada – a slice of toasted bread with melted Brie cheese, a drizzle of honey, and half a walnut on top.  Wow, delicious! 

 

This wasn’t quite enough for lunch, so we went to order something else.  Our waitress recommended their special, basically another bicicletta but with a small slice of glazed salmon on top.  Her description was that they put brown sugar on the salmon and then they bomb it.  I tried not to laugh – I think she meant they use a torch to melt the sugar, but I know that in Puerto Rico a fireman is called a bombero, so bombing the salmon was probably adding fire.  I think.  It really was a great visual, though, imagining bombing a small slice of salmon!

 

It was also delicious!

 

And then, the piéce de resistance – we saw someone being served the rosa de alcachoka, the artichoke rose, served with black truffle sauce!!!  We just looked at each other and knew we needed to share a serving of that.  That turned out to be the best item yet!  It was served with some berry marmalade that also was made with truffle – the whole thing was incredible!!!

 

So yes, I took photos of these fabulously tasty items.  It probably was one of the most innovative and gourmet lunches I’ve ever had!  Absolutely wonderful!

 

The place is called Larvi – their address is Calle del Aire 25, in Cartagena, Spain.  They don’t have a website yet, but they really have amazingly delicious food!!!  (They have an Instagram page:  https://www.instagram.com/larvicartagena/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D)

 

After our fabulous lunch, we walked on to the the modern art museum, housed in a beautiful mansion.  The place turned out to be closed, perhaps because it was Sunday, or maybe because it was siesta time.  No idea.  We checked with a friendly grocer, who said yes, they are closed.  But he gave each of us a delicious orange, just because Cartagena is that kind of place.

 

To one side of the art museum building, we found the ancient Roman road that has been uncovered, or at least a portion of it, the Decumano Maximo.  Across the modern street, this Roman street continued, another section of it dug up, complete with the outlines of houses that lined the street, and the square bases of columns that once held up the roofs of these dwellings.  Mind-boggling to know we were walking where Roman citizens once lived over 2000 years ago, trying to imagine what their lives must have been like way back then.            

 

We continued on up this incline, and found what looked like a small colosseum, although it turned out to be the old and now disused bull ring.  In the opposite direction, we found an old Roman gate, and then the medieval walls that once surrounded all of Cartagena.  We walked on, finding ourselves now walking on top of these old protective walls, with various sentry posts and guard houses.  There were gates below, but the grates over the openings were locked, so we continued walking on the tops of the walls, wide enough for a chariot or carriage and horses.  It was an interesting view of the city, to be raised several storeys above the rest of the buildings!

 

We walked on, and eventually found a spiral staircase that allowed us to get back down to ground level.  It was a two or three storey staircase, but it brought us down to the park, and then on to the waterfront.  Lots of pleasure boats, including catamarans.  We could see our ship in the distance, so we headed that way.

 

It really was a fun day, so much happening, and an amazing (and inexpensive) lunch!  We both had a great time, and Cartagena will always be remembered as a wonderful place to visit!  (It actually would be an incredible place to re-visit for a longer stay!)