I
was out and about for sail into Cartagena before daybreak. Once the ship was
cleared, we walked out to the waterfront to meet our guide. Our guide Jorge met
us and we travelled to La Manga area to start our touring day. La Manga is a
resort town running between the inner sea or salt water lagoon called the Mar
Menor and the Mediterranean Sea. Next, we went to Cabo de Palos with the
lighthouse towering over everything. The lighthouse reaches up to 81 meters
above sea level and was opened in 1865. We climbed up to the lighthouse for
great views of the Mediterranean and the La Manga resort area. Great view!!! Heading
back to Cartagena we drove through the silver mining area…The silver mining
industry was shut down by the Spanish government in 1991 due to environmental,
health and safety concerns. We made a stop at Portman Bay and Lighthouse…this
bay overlooks the now abandoned mining operations and town. On our drive back
through the Portman Bay mining area you could see what remains of the abandoned
industry, town, operational buildings and mineshafts. Large deposits of waste debris
can be seen everywhere…the locals refer to the area as the Escombros Valley in
English it means debris. It is really quite sad to see this ecological disaster
that is facing a very huge clean up task. Arriving back in Cartagena we parked
and walked to visit the Cartagena Punic Wall Interpretation Center to see the
recovery of the remains of the ancient Carthaginian wall situated at the
entrance of the city. This is one of the scarce Punic findings located in the Iberian
Peninsula and one of the few remaining Carthaginian relics still found in
Spain. This discovery in 1987 reveals one of the most important episodes in the
history of the Mediterranean, the Punic Wars between the Carthaginians and the
Romans. The Punic wall surrounded the city in the 3rd century BC. The remains
discovered are 30 meters long and some parts are conserved courses of blocks
about 3 meters high. In addition, next to the wall, we saw the St. Joseph
Crypt, a funeral crypt built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its walls show
frescos representing skeletons of the Dances of Death. The ability to admire
relics that are 2500 years old is not an everyday experience. From the museum
we made our way through the city center to see the Roman Theater, unfortunately
the panoramic elevator to take you to the top was out of commission. From here
we decided to head in the direction of the ship via the old town network of
pedestrianized streets. We arrived at the Calle Mayor/Main Street which leads
to the cruise port. This avenue exemplifies the best of the Spanish city’s
history, spirit and culture. Highlights of our walk back to the ship included
the palm tree-lined Plaza de Ayuntamiento, the 19th-century Art Nouveau
Cartagena City Hall and the eye-catching architecture along the way. We had another
beautiful day of weather and saw some different venues from our previous trips
to Cartagena…. overall, a very good day with an informative guide Jorge!
