We are delighted to be back in Cartagena; we made an impromptu visit in 2014 and enjoyed every minute. The attraction is due at least in part to its small size (pop. 220,000 with another 200,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area) and its relative isolation. Its bay on southern Spain's Mediterranean coast is an ideal defensive port, as witnessed by the successive occupants dating from Phoenician times. But it takes some effort to get here, and not that many foreigners come. (For more information about Cartagena, see my "2014 Spring" posts on this blog.)
The center of town is located at the port, which is also the historic zone. An upscale district of stores and hotels and restaurants stretches up a marble-paved pedestrian street to inland plazas and parks. The main tourism is from cruise ships that come in three or four times a week and swamp the downtown for the day before leaving at night. The rest of the commerce comes from locals and other Spaniards. It is a lively place, but not artificial in the way that some tourist destinations can be. There is a large naval base here, as well as a university, and regional government offices.
Plus, Cartagena has simply been here, since long ago, and has a definite sense of itself and its history. It was a stronghold of the Republican government of Spain in the 1930s, and was the last city in Spain to surrender to Franco. Nonetheless, even under that regime, its industrial activity and resulting prosperity increased. It seems to be a pretty solidly middle-class city.
The center of town is located at the port, which is also the historic zone. An upscale district of stores and hotels and restaurants stretches up a marble-paved pedestrian street to inland plazas and parks. The main tourism is from cruise ships that come in three or four times a week and swamp the downtown for the day before leaving at night. The rest of the commerce comes from locals and other Spaniards. It is a lively place, but not artificial in the way that some tourist destinations can be. There is a large naval base here, as well as a university, and regional government offices.
Plus, Cartagena has simply been here, since long ago, and has a definite sense of itself and its history. It was a stronghold of the Republican government of Spain in the 1930s, and was the last city in Spain to surrender to Franco. Nonetheless, even under that regime, its industrial activity and resulting prosperity increased. It seems to be a pretty solidly middle-class city.
Cartagena's history is without a doubt one of the other main delights for us. Any time a building is razed or a parking lot dug, ruins are found. The old Roman walls still stand in several places, as do sections of the five Roman fortresses built on the city's hills, and the old Roman theater. Older Phoenician and younger Byzantine and Moorish remains also pop up unexpectedly, all set side-by-side with Art Nouveau buildings built by early 20th-century bourgeoisie, wide streets, apartment houses from many eras, and people and small businesses everywhere. Where remnants of earlier times have been found, they have been carefully excavated and made available to the public, with the result that the center of town is kind of a living museum cutting across millennia. There is even a still-active dig under the auspices of the university right in the middle of town. As in other Spanish cities, zoning regulations prohibit modern skyscrapers and require that historic facades be retained, no matter how modern the interiors might become. It makes for a visually very appealing place.
We are housed within two blocks of the port, on the main plaza, and after our 7-hour bus trip from Málaga yesterday we have enjoyed walking around and getting reacquainted with the city. Tomorrow is All Saints' Day, and a national holiday, and many Spaniards have followed the tradition of haciendo puente, or creating a bridge between the weekend and the Tuesday holiday by taking today (Monday) off. So the town wears an extra-festive aura.
It also means extra crowds, of course, plus there is a HUGE cruise ship in port. So we laid low and did some domestic-ish chores, taking laundry to a local tintoreria (who had it done by noon), buying water, etc. These took us out into the less touristy district, where we had the pleasure of a Sunday-afternoon-style dinner from which we are still recovering. Grilled octopus, beef-and-vegetable kebabs, fresh dorada (bream) fish, accompanied by fresh salad, fresh bread, and pan de calatrava for dessert. Yum.
