Cartagena Spain – a charming port city
Cartagena Spain is a very charming port city with a remarkable history still in the process of being unraveled. According to our initial plan, we would not have spent much time here. Nevertheless, due to many repairs on our newly acquired boat, Cartagena is turning into a city hard to leave.
The City’s an inner core with a net of pedestrian streets is close by the yacht port, that we live in. The city seems to be a tourist town for Spanish people. Not many speak English. We have however learned a few of the most necessary words by now; “Una cerveza” meaning a beer and “La cuenta” the bill.
There is a lot of city life here with a mix of restaurants and bars, small local craft shops and touristy clothing- and souvenir shops. During our many walks in the city center, we have spotted some very cool street art.
Facades without buildings
Like in any other town center, some buildings are well renovated and appear as new, others need a caring hand. There are several places with facades held up by scaffolds, and there is nothing behind it. Some of them have been like that for so long that nature has taken over the ground. Trees several meters tall have grown there over time, creating an oasis that can only be seen through the creeks in the shuttering. I guess it must be due to preservation of the facades. However it seems quite peculiar walking by a facade with no building behind it.
The streets of Cartagena Spain
Walking down the streets, one moment you are greeted by the smell of perfume from the well-dressed tourists, the next the smell of paella and frying oil. Occasionally there’s a smell of sewage, and then paella again.
The pedestrian streets are paved with small granite tiles, polished perfectly smooth. When we first arrived here, I had trouble with my leather sandals. I had bought them online from a cobbler in Italy last year. When I got them, they were just as nice as they looked on the website, but with smooth soles. They were usable in Copenhagen, but here in the slippery streets of Cartagena, they became almost useless.
Cafts and repair Shops
On one of our walks in the city we found a cobbler who could add new soles on my sandals. A small shop with lots of shoes and bags and all sorts of things that had been dropped off for repair. Even a school bag. Every time we came to the shop there was a queue of people needing repairs for everything from shoes to jackets. It’s so cool that these kind of repairs are still happening here in Spain, and keeping the handicraft businesses alive.
At another leather shop nearby we bought leather to cover the steering wheel of our boat. The clerk in the store gave us instructions on how to make holes in the leather and sew with two needles. This could turn out to be some great “Craft and Design” lessons in homeschooling for the kids.
Spanish hospitality
The locals people are very welcoming and friendly. In a local fresh produce market, Martin asked for olive oil at a stall and was presented with a 4 liter bottle as the smallest one in the stall. The lady at the stall didn’t speak English. A man from another stall, who did speak some English came to the rescue. He took Martin and Victor to several other booths around the market, and helped finding a smaller bottle of olive oil for them.
Surviving the Spanish Heatwave
By mid-day, most of the shops are closed for siesta and the streets are pretty much emptied of people. Well, with exception of the most persistent tourist shops, restaurants and ice cream shops for the tourists, that don’t take siesta. Particularly now during the heatwave in Spain with temperatures around 40 degrees centigrade, we can really feel the need for siesta in this weather. Victor learned quickly that ice-cream is for eating fast down here, or enjoying inside in an air-conditioned store.
Chasing shadows
For a while, before we bought an air conditioner for the boat, we went grocery shopping during siesta time to be inside the air conditioning cold when it was hottest outside. The walk to and from the supermarket became a chase for shadows; alongside a building that casts a bit of shade by the facade or under tree canopies. You get a different view on shadows in this heat. I remember in my early childhood in Pakistan, where I lived until the age of 8, the heat made the ground so hot, you would burn your feet walking barefoot. Some of us small kids made bets on who could stand on the ground for the longest time.
Evening Atmosphere in the City
In the evening, the city is alive again. Restaurants open for dinner and tourists flock in the most stylish summer outfits in the latest fashion.
Even though the streets are in the shade, you can clearly feel the City heat. The walls are being warmed up by the sunlight during the day. In the evening hours, the air-condition outlets still keep warming up the streets.
There are lottery vendors setting up small stalls in the street side. A few beggars walk around hoping to get small change from the tourists. Having walked the same streets several times, you eventually recognize the beggars. One of them walks among the restaurant guests and begs. His method is actually quite effective. We’ve seen several people give him money.
During the summer holidays in august, there have been several street concerts in the inner city.
Spanish food
I myself is having a little hard time with the Spanish food. The paella with all the seafood; I like the flavoring and the rice, but the mussels and the squids are not really my cup of tea. And what is it with these tapas. One time I only got potatoes for dinner.. Odd! And if you order a hamburger, you never know how the meat will be. In one of the restaurants, it was really good. In others, Martin and Anton got some hamburgers (in different restaurants) the meat was only cooked for a second on both sides. Inside it was all raw. Poor Martin, with his sensitive stomach, had stomach-ache the rest of the day. I worry how he will make it around the world with his stomach.
Up Next
We finally go out sailing and anchor for one night. Read about how it went with our trip to Mar Menor.
