Cartagena

Public Art and Sculpture in Cartagena

It takes less than an hour to cover the distance of 40km - as the crow flies - between Murcia and Cartagena, by bus. I just sat back and enjoyed the journey along the A30, which winds up and over a forested part of the Cordillera Betica. I hardly took my eyes off the landscape, trying to make some sense of a wide variety of rocky exposures that could be seen - in the road cuttings and steep sided river valleys - as we sped past them.

Once over the Cordillera Betica, the road heads straight towards Cartagena over a barren, relatively featureless plain, where only lemon trees seem to be in their element but, somewhere on the horizon, steep sided hills and mountains protrude from the landscape.

A Map of Cartagena

Leaving the bus station, I was confronted by the city wall, above which rose the Cerro de Despeñaperros, a steep fortified hill. 

Having left behind the hand drawn directions that would get me to the nearest tourist information office – I only remembered that I had to find the roundabout, turn left and head off down a long straight road towards the port.

At La Catedral Antigua de Santa María

Looking at the buildings and the road signs, for a clue to its whereabouts, I completely missed the roadside map that I have since discovered on Google Map. 

Wandering for an hour, along and around the long, narrow street that leads from both the bus and railway stations to the old city centre, I finally had to buy myself a map, in Spanish, from one of the kiosks - after stopping a few times to ask for directions and not understanding the response.

A detail at Cartagena Town Hall

The main reason for wanting to visit Cartagena was to see the Roman theatre and, whilst taking yet another unplanned detour around its exterior, in search of the entrance, I encountered some fantastic views of the city.

Finally, on the corner of the magnificent town hall, I found the tourist information office and, once I had gathered all the information that I needed, I went to look at the Roman theatre and its museum.

Ceramic murals

Exiting the Roman theatre by a gate that I had already found during my previous exploration of the hill, I went back down to Plaza de Ayuntamiento. 

The effects of 'el gripe', especially the lack of food, had begun to take its toll on my energy levels and I really didn't explore the city as much as I would have liked.

The area around the waterfront has obviously had money spent on it, as well as the part of the commercial centre which I saw in passing. Without really looking out for it, I saw plenty of interesting public art and sculpture, some fine architecture, the Muralla de Carlos III and I only scratched the surface of the history of this fantastic place.

A staircase on the Muralla de Carlos III

As an easily defended natural harbour and, having been the gateway to the region's mineral wealth for over 2000 years, the city has been fought over many times and fragments of ancient walls - of varying ages - are seen all over the city.

For its archaeological interest alone, a long weekend could easily be spent here, exploring the five small hills that form the core of the ancient city.

The Museum of Marine Archaeology

Although I would have appreciated the National Museum of Marine Archaeology much more, if I had had enough time to take advantage of the exceptional interpretation of the exhibits, as well as being able to take photographs, I was very impressed.

In particular, I liked the 'fossilised' box of coins that I saw and the way that amphorae were stored away in the ships.

The old bullring

With time moving on, I started to find my way back to the bus station, winding around some of the backstreets and discovering more excavations of walls along the way. 

Whilst walking around the campus of the Technical University of Cartagena I unexpectedly discovered the old dilapidated bullring, which itself is built on the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre, before coming across a large outcrop of rock - which obviously attracted my interest.

By now, most of the shops had closed for the afternoon siesta and, if I could have found a place to buy them, I would have really appreciated churros and chocolate. Instead I had to make do with a coffee, at the bus station, whilst reflecting on the day and anticipating my last night in Murcia, which lay ahead...