On Tuesday, after spending the previous day docked in Valencia and working from our suite, we docked in Cartagena.

We live in Valencia, so there was no need to get off the ship the day before. Besides, it was raining. So we decided to stay in our suite, working and reading. We enjoyed it so much, that we stayed even for dinner, ordering room service, which our butler called Denver, served beautifully. We turned it into a decadent picnic eating in bed and watching a movie (the surprisingly good ‘Cruella’).

The next day we docked in Cartagena, in the region of Murcia (Spain). The city has been important for several empires (Phoenician, Greek, Carthaginian, Roman, Visigoth, and Muslim) because of its perfect natural port. As such, it has a long naval tradition, which explains the National Underwater Archeology Museum, located in the port and free until the end of the year.

Other than the (free) Archeological Museum, a mile North, Cartagena is an easy and small port of call to visit. In a quick walk you can see the Roman Theater (very well preserved and discovered by lucky chance in 1987), the Roman Amphitheater (in complete disarray after a bullring was built on top of it two centuries ago), the Castle of Concepcion (also know as Castle of the Ducks), the main pedestrian street with its cafes and shops, and many art nouveau (“modernista”) buildings such as the city hall or the Grand Hotel (which is no longer a hotel but an office building).

Two special mentions to keep in mind are the small but interesting (and free) MURAM, Region of Murcia’s Modern Art Museum, and the Air Raid Shelter Museum (formerly known as the Civil War museum, although the new name better reflects what you see inside), from where you can take the scenic elevator up to the Castle. Both museums are a great learning opportunity, worth a visit.

Back on the ship we worked a little bit, and then inspected several suites in different categories, before going to have dinner at the pan-Asian (mostly Thai) Indochine restaurant.

Some photos here.