Cartagena, Spain and the Roman Ruins

We arrived at Murcia Airport in Spain (which is quite possibly the most chilled out airport...ever) at about 10:30am and had a few hours to waste before checking in at the hotel. Arriving at 10:30am in Spain means that we were up at 3:00am to head to the airport!! We were a mess after saying goodbye to Punkins the day before and Van left his phone in the car in London, so we were internet-less for the first time in a long time! I tried to jog my grief ridden brain to remember what I had planned in Cartagena. I knew there were Roman ruins in Cartagena so we just took off and figured we would find it.

Well we first found a little cafe to eat at which actually was the hospital cafe. A few old men were seated outside and we decided to stop. Of course the waitress didn't speak English :) She took us straight outside to a white haired gentleman who was British and he translated for us. He was very kind and we stopped and had tapas while he told us about the area. He also worked in the aviation industry and he and Van chatted on and on. It was a gorgeous day and he said we should head down to the marina and take a peak. So we did...

The marina was filled to the brim with cruise ships and other boats, so we were unable to get a view of the ocean just yet. Cartagena marina has a large naval port and we caught a glimpse of one of their battleships. We watched it come into port and drank Irish Coffees on the promenade. After a nice dose of whisky and caffeine, we decided to seek out the Roman ruins. 

We walked in the general direction of the ruins and snapped a few photos of the city. It was soooo nice to see palm trees and feel the sun. Even though I felt terrible, the surrounding views were keeping my mind in the present moment and it was nice.

I feel ya buddy

We finally made it to the Roman ruins. It was easy to find and we were finding that most people in the touristy areas did speak English. The ruins have a very interesting story. They actually were discovered in 1988ish. Over the years, the Roman theater had been covered and buildings were constructed on top of the ruins. They excavated and preserved the ruins which were finally opened to the public in 2008. 

The city of Cartagena was founded circa 227 BC and the Roman theater is estimated to have been built between 5BC and 1BC due to findings of statues of Augustus' grandsons. If you look at the picture below, you can see the Spanish apartments just behind the columns. I found it very interesting to be walking around a Roman theater and watching a lady hang her clothes to dry just above!

We managed a few smiles however if my sunglasses were off in this picture, it would scare you. I looked quite scraggly all day but I really didn't care. I felt like Carrie looked on the Sex and the City movie when she walked into her honeymoon suite in Mexico....remember that? Yeah...that bad. I couldn't wait to get to the hotel and get a little freshened up.

Column ends used in the structure

Artifacts in the museum

The Roman Theater was really cool to walk around. I wasn't too impressed with the museum part but only because it was mostly in Spanish and I wasn't in the mood for reading. It took about 30 minutes to walk around and I really appreciated the fact that it had been discovered in my lifetime. It makes you wonder what else is still out there to be discovered.

After the ruins, we hopped in our trusty rental car and hit the road to head towards Mar Menor. Our hotel was so much better than I could have even imagined, I cried when I saw it. I knew it was meant to be. I'll be posting about that later next week :)

Have a great rest of the week and a wonderful weekend! We will be taking some down time to regroup and get ready for my Dad's visit next week.....I cannot wait to have a hug from my Dad :)

-Jamie