Leaving Cartagena for Barcelona



Video above - Leaving Cartagena

As we prepared to leave Cartagena we realised how much there was we had not seen of this ancient port. So we set about visiting some of the museums and sights of Cartagena.  Cartagena is one of the few natural harbours on the south coast of Spain and with its mines of silver and tin it has been a central location for the successive waves of conquerors who have ruled it.  About 50 meters from where we were berthed was the National Museum of Underwater  Archaeology - a revelation with its history of the early traders who visited here. 

oil jars

The museum has a replica of a Phoenecian trading ship that sank near Cartagena about 2700BC with its cargo. The original ship still lies protected on the seabed, but its cargo of ivory, oil jars and religious artefacts has been brought to the surface to be a central part of the story of the earliest Phoenecian traders who brought writing, the pottery wheel and the concept of profit to the world. The ivory tusks are clearly marked with the symbols which are the basis of our alphabet and  which in this case identified a particular trader.  It was not the first time that we left a museum amazed by the antiquity of this part of the world.

IMG 1561


Another day we visited the Roman Theatre. After the Romans defeated the Carthaginians who found this city, Cartagena became an important outpost of the Roman Empire. Like outposts everywhere the locals wanted to show not only their loyalty to the current regime but to celebrate their wealth.  The construction of a theatre to seat 7,00 people was the result.  This massive structure was only rediscovered in 1988 and has been unearthed and preserved in another beautiful very modern museum. The Theatre was built in 1BC and over the years was lost as successive generations used it and its building materials for a market, for a residential district - the fortified medina of the Muslim population of Cartagena - and eventually as the basis of a Christian Cathedral. This pattern is repeated so often in the buildings we have seen where Roman becomes Muslim becomes Christian, each generation of builders using the materials of the previous one to construct its edifices.

We were sad to leave Cartagena which had become home in Spain for us. We were berthed there for many weeks and made good friends with other yachties along the marina - having some good times with Martin and Jill, Vic and Linda, and Brigitte and Olivier who generously guided us through our first days in Spain, our first days on the boat, and our thoughts about future travel.

IMG 4469

But it was also with a sense of adventure that we headed out of the ancient harbour on 23 June to sail north to Alicante.  Our tour of the Mediterrean begins. Winds were light and we had a gentle sail for 13 hours as we explored the boat for the first extended time at sea. In fact we motored for a lot of the time because we wanted to get to Alicante while it was still light. But at times there was enough in the south easterly wind to get Isabella moving along gently acros the light swell.




P1020300


And so to Alicante......It was fiesta time in Alicante.  The long history of Spain reached even further back here as the festival was a midsummer festival which no doubt has its roots a long way back in time. The tradition in this festival is to burn the detritus of the past year and to begin afresh a new year. This has morphed into a week long festival of fireworks and bonfires. The photo below is not riot police controlling protests in some angry European city..... it's just the citizens of Alicante having fun.  (see Photo Album



IMG 4530


Fireworks started at 0800 on some mornings and continued all day with bursts of crackers sounding like gunfire echoing though the streets. The high point of the fiesta is the burning of 100 bonfires which have been built around the city. Groups build huge papermache/plastic edifices representing various things which were a bit of a mystery to us, but the odd politician seemed to be constructed ready for the conflagration at midnight on midsummer's day.  


IMG 4509IMG 4500















We joined the thousands of people who watched and cheered and shouted as the bonfires were lit. Even the firefighters enjoyed it all as they controlled the flames and then turned their hoses on the crowds.



Just when we thought it was all over we discovered that this was only the beginning of a week of a fireworks competition held on the beach next to the marina.  Every night at  midnight another group would launch its bid to have the best fireworks display.  It's a festival that needs more energy than we had and we discovered a new found ability to sleep soundly through yet another bombardment of explosions. 

IMG 1566




IMG 1581



Alicante is used to explosions and we visited the Castle of Santa Barbara which overlooks the city and which has been the subject of many bombardments over the centuries. As well as providing a great view of the city and the Mediterranean it contains yet another wonderful Spanish museum recording the social history of the area in photograhs and in a collection of domestic artefacts that stretch back to the neolithic period. 






IMG 1585



Some of these artefacts are intact and show extraordinary details of life in the area up to 5,00 years ago. One of the most striking displays here is a three metre high wall mounted montage of shards of domestic pottery which have been collected from the thousands of years of human habitation.





P1020314

We eventually decided to head north to Barcelona rather than to head for the islands which, while apparently beautiful are also a tourist mecca in July and August. So on 29 June we let go the lines and headed off to try out Isabella as a sailing vessel. Once again winds were light and we motor sailed a lot of the way to make sure we got to Denia, our first port of call, in daylight. At times like that we are glad to have a 100hp diesel whirring away under our feet. Eventually the sea breeze picked up and we sailed on the big genoa with up to 28 kts of wind driving us on at 7 kts. It was exhilarating at the time......and then exciting when we had to work hard to furl the flaying sail as we arrived at Denia.  Things got even more exciting when we discovered that we had to berth stern-to in the Mediterranean fashion as we had never attempted such a manoeuvre.  Best to draw a veil over this embarrassing moment.. suffice to say the other inhabitants of the marina enjoyed the show!!

Next time we will tell you about Barcelona - magnificent - just magnificent. 






© Michael White 2013