Cartagena

Sunday 28 July
Today, we headed south, to the city of Cartagena, one of Spain’s most important Roman sites, and a major naval centre. Our first visit was to the Roman amphitheater and museum. This amazing amphitheater was built between the fifth and first centuries BC. In its heyday, it could hold some 6,000 spectators. Over the centuries, this Spanish landmark fell into disrepair and actually physically vanished as one building after another was constructed on top of the ruins. At one point, a marketplace and a bullring occupied the site over the ancient tiers of stone. Excavations only began in 1988, so what wensee today is an incredible archaeological achievement. We started with the very interesting museum - nice to get out of the hot sun into some air conditioning for a while! Next we visited the Castillo de la Concepcion, built up on a hill. You can walk up, but given the extreme heat, we opted for the scenic elevator! At the top there are murals lining the path, and half a dozen or so peacocks strutting around and making their strident calls. I’ve put a second collage in extras with a few shots from the castle as well as some of the city center buildings. Before leaving the city, we visited the Punic Wall of Cartagena, an archaeological site from then3rd century BC, in which can be seen the first defensive wall of Cartagena, built by the Carthaginians, one of the few remains of Carthaginian civilization in Spain.
Magali and Fitge were arriving this evening and we were invited to join Fitge’s family for dinner at their country home. It had been several years since we had seen Magali, and we had never met Fitzge or their children, so it was a special time. Dinner was quite casual, but very good, served outside on their shady area at the side of the house.