Although it was Dad's birthday on 2nd May, we were able to celebrate it with him on 5th May in Cartagena, as Mum and Dad were on a west Mediterranean cruise.
On Tuesday afternoon, I travelled down to visit John, partaking in a very pleasant dinner, along with a vast quantity of alcohol! Well, it was for me! I drink so little these days, that just a few drinks left me in a very delicate state on Wednesday.
We got to Cartagena very easily, just around 1/2 hour from John's house. Only one mistake with trying to find the port (we suddenly spotted the liner behind us) and we managed to park right on the front, in an undergraound car-park. Thank goodness for mobile phones - 2 mintues later and we were all greeting each other.
We had a wonderful day. Cartagena is a beautiful city. Very important during roman times, it's natural harbour and surrounding mountains made it obvious as to it's importance in controlling the west of the mediterranean. Nowadays of course, it's importance is of a commercial nature, as well as still being the home of the Spanish Navy. It is still one of the main ports in spain, but now also has a wonderful shopping area, as well as historic sites, such as an amphitheatre, colonnade and tower.
To my delight, the restaurants and cafe's were wonderfully efficient, considering the influx of some 2,000 visitors and the prices weren't inflated either. (Apart from the cafe right on the front, but that is pretty normal.)
All too soon, it was time for them to return to the ship. As we all walked back, there was a party of spanish people going to look at the boat. They saw me taking photo's and asked if I knew these people! "Yes, my parents." (Si, mis padres) Oh, they were delighted that someone who knew something could talk to them! Where are they going next, how many people on the ship, where are they from, why is there a red flag on the top, not a Union Jack...? Somehow, I actually managed to answer these questions, and poor John had to rescue me, otherwise I would have been there for an hour!
A wonderful day out, and a wonderful trip for them (now home, safe and sound).
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