The NH hotel was fairly packed at
breakfast for a change, at least 10 tables occupied. It is Sunday morning and the
city of Cartagena is wide awake ready for a 5K run at least their tents, porta
potties and other infrastructures erected on the beach front, a very large
cruise ship was docked and obviously contributing its passengers into the
crowds milling about. There were even quite small children with numbers and
names on their chests, obviously a family affair. I was intrigued by the grey
colored tall cones in the center of all the activity and decided to
investigate. Well! Pissoir! I don’t know what they are called in Spanish let
alone English but there were adult men facing these structures and if they were
not relieving themselves then quite frankly, I was not inclined to go any
closer and find out!
This port area is very vibrant and lively. The
gardens are lovely, the walkways and sculptures delightful. There is one
enormous sculpture of a man sitting, with his arms around his drawn-up knees
and his head bowed. It is very poignant and is dedicated all the victims of
terrorism. There is also a whale’s fluke
poking out of the water nearby. They do love their outdoor sculptures, they are
everywhere, plazas, in the center of traffic circles and parks. It adds a certain
air of dignity and culture to a city. I love it!
No one could tell us exactly what
the activities were for this Sunday in town and so we went up to pack get ready
to hit the road. Google maps says only 64Km today. A short run to Lorca very
overcast and quiet on the roads for a weekend. As we started our drive out of
town, slowly, because of all of the runners and police barricades at the
intersections we drove down the Avenida next to the Arsenal building and found
an entire building held up and in place very stable with clamps and braces as if
from a huge erector set. If you have followed our blogs, I know you have heard
us recount how the Spanish are always keen to retain the character of their
buildings and they do that by retaining the original front facade and then
retrofit the interior infrastructure to complete the remodel with the original
framework and Paul got the photo to prove it all!
Lorca is a barren dusty town of
older style 5-8 floor apartments buildings. They had a 5.1 magnitude earthquake
in 2011 that delayed the Parador opening by a year. Evidently Lorca retrieves
its drinking water from underground reservoirs and that caused the quake.
Something like 9 people killed many buildings damaged including the Parador.
We stopped in town to get our
bearings and to have refreshments. Paul opted to drive back out of town and
towards the next village some 17 Km distant for a lunch spot. We only went
about 3 Km and found El Parque Restaurante packed with families at huge 20-30
place settings. All tables were full and a very kind kid of about 20 said he
would set us a place at the counter (bar) why not, we have eaten stateside at
the bar at Outback. No exception here.
The food was outstanding and
service swift. We watched them fill pitcher after pitcher of beer for the large
family tables. Mind you it is fiesta week in Lorca and the families are already
out and about together celebrating. I believe they are celebrating their
history of Los Moros y Christianos There was a huge parade on Thursday, I
watched it on TV in Cartagena! The costumes were elaborate, with accompanying
camels, horses, burros, dancers and bands. Looked like a lot of fun, there are
more celebrations after we leave!
Off to check in at the Parador.
An upgrade to a full suite offered for just 40 €, why not we are staying on Amigos
points here for Bed & Breakfast anyway (580pts). We have a completely
separate lounge room with desk TV and huge sofa (sleeper), separate room with
King canopy bed and TV. The bathroom is large enough that an intercom would be
nice. Double size jacuzzi jetted tub, stand-alone
enclosed shower stall. A small dressing
room with 4 closets/a safe and fridge. Off we went for a dip in the pool
at 5:30 PM, it’s an infinity pool with glass windows looking out to the valley
expanse below, all lit up as it was already dark when we entered. Water was 29C
and too cool for the Floridians!! Jane’s feet touched that water and as they
are very sensitive to cold, they curled up in horror! She opted not to push her
luck! |
| Street Art Cartagena Spain |
We opted for bar snacks for
supper and a peaceful night of relaxation at the Parador.
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