The main disadvatage about cruising on today’s cruise ships is that generally the size prohibits docking close to the town, with berths in commercial dockyards or tendering the norm. Today ,however, was an exception as we sailed into the beautiful Spanish port of Cartagena with its marina full of small sailing boats.
Although the Britannia may have looked a little out of place in the marina,….
..it meant that with a short walk from the ship we were on the main marble paved street of the town.
The town is steeped in history from its founding in 200BC by the Carthagenians acting as a base for Hannibal’s invasion of Italy, but is perhaps most famous for the Roman period in it’s history. The centrepiece of this is the Roman Theatre which was only discovered by chance in 1987. Unbelievable when you see the size of it.
The theatre is acessed through a small museum that in addition to telling the history of the town displays many artefacts that have been discovered on the site.The theatre itself was built to entertain over 6,000 spectators and dates from the first century BC.
Today it entertains many visitors from the cruise ships.
It was once again a very sunny and hot day and with the sun reflecting off the bare stone and marble streets it appeared even hotter. The town is full of other significant archaeology which we visited on our last trip here last year. Today we decided on a gentle stroll down the main streets looking at the shops and admiring the architecture of the buildings we pass.
The streets also contain some interesting bronze statues depicting local life such as a postman, a lady on a bench and these three sisters on an Easter procession.
After a relaxing afternoon watching a movie with the children the ship set sail for our last stop of Gibraltar, passing one of the medieval forts on the way out of the harbour.
Cartagena is a gem of a port to visit, small enough to get around easily but with so much to see. For me it rates as one of my favourite ports of call.
