Spain

Cartagena, Palma

Having once been to Cartagena Columbia, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the one in Spain, but after a day in port I can say with confidence that the one in Columbia is an imposter and the Cartagena in Spain is the real deal, clean and very continental.

Cartagena’s Main Town Square

In Cartagena we boarded a tour bus for a short ride to a quite cove for some Kayaking on the Mediterranean. It was a quite pleasant activity. The kayaks had no back rests and the wind did kick up a bit on the way back, but the ocean only crested the bow a few times, and the life jackets we were given did float, we think. Back at the jumping off point a little stand on the beach sold beverages, and I skillfully purchased ice cold plastic bottles of water. The transaction was all in Spanish and I paid in Euro’s.

Back at the ship the real action was in the towns main square. A marathon race had taken off here in the morning as we came into port, so there was a lot of activity from that, and from the ship.  There was a lot to take in, and the square was a great place to just wander and explore around.

Just a short overnight run to Palma, and another great town, in Spain with a prominent gothic cathedral.

Just Another Ornate Gothic Cathedral

In Palma we boarded a bus for a long ride out of town to the Caves of Drack. Our guide, a sweet older gentleman who spoke several languages and had a soothing voice that went on and on like a NPR program that you could not turn off. His favorite saying was “More of Less” miso mano, and he injected this saying as often as possible, but he could not compete with our guide in Barcelona whose favorite saying was “actually” and he must have actually said actually several thousand times during our tour.

The caves had all the usually stalagmites, and stalactites  that you would expect in a cave, but in the middle is a huge amphitheater, and a lake, that after several bus loads of us were seated, the lights were dimmed, and three row boats came around the bend, one of the boats with a violinist, a cellist, and a organ. They only preformed a few classical songs, but the concert was very stunning, and way more entertaining than looking at the formations in the cave.

We also got back to the ship in plenty of time to go into town, that happens to be right along the dock and explore the sites. There was Even enough time to have a drink and use the restaurants powerful wi-fi, that makes the ships seem more pathetic.

One Of The Now Derelict Wind Mills Along The Motor Way