Torres Gemelas Cartagena

Last night we went to a spanish beach bar which was right on the beach no English people were there and non of the bar staff spoke English which i really like! I like to see a country from the locals no touristy areas.

Today we went to the Puerto de Mazzron in the day we got a bus down which was half hour late! We went to a restaurant which we had previously been ...

... all the back roads which were terrible and really bad and bumpy. We arrived on the port and went to a pub which was run by an English women, stayed there for one drink and then went for a walk there was a spanish punch and judy show (In spanish) we stood and watch that for ten minutes! It was strange because it was 11:15pm and there was spanish kids everywhere still up and it was packed ...

... Skiathos and Rhodes) the Red Sea Riviera (Sharm el Shiekh, Hurghada and Taba Heights) the Arabian Gulf (Dubai, Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi), the Indian Ocean (Goa, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka) the Caribbean Islands (Antigua, Grenada, Nevis, St Kitts, St Lucia and Tobago Last July I visited Menorca, the second largest of the Balearic Islands after Mallorca. The island has two main cities, the ...

... Picturesque, clean and inviting, it made for a truly pleasant excursion off-ship. We didn't take any of the ship's shore excursions, instead opting to wander around the lovely town by ourselves. Since it was Sunday many of the shops were closed, but we still enjoyed walking through the streets and soaking up the atmosphere. We stopped for lunch at a little sidewalk cafe ...

... They are building a museum of submarine archeology, and apparently "Madrid" is trying to turn Cartagena into a popular tourist (especially cruising) destination. They have a ways to go. I think most people were glad to have a downtime day, though. Pauline was happy that Mike found her some Pepsis. She loves Pepsi so much her dog (a Pomeranian) is named Pepsi, and of course it's Coke only on the ship. I may look for some ...

... and cathedral which is nice was with great views. The main street like most of Spain's cities is closed off and full of beautiful old buildings, with cafes sprawling out into the street and lots of lovely designer stores. A great place to walk around. The afternoon was sad as we said goodbye to our latest crew member, "Zac", who is off to Granada by bus and then onto Athens to continue the second year of his world trip. We will miss ...

We left the safety of Alicante to make our way further down the coast towards Cartagena in what was predicted to be a 15 - 20 knot breeze. I say "predicted to be" as the weather forecasts and we have 3 sources, have been proven to be wrong and grossly at that. And so 1hr along, the Med typical as ever decided to change her mind and whip up to a 35 - 40 knot gale. So from skipping along nicely it quickly went to be tossed around in a washing machine where everything was falling ...

Finally a place to anchor and get away from the expense of Marinas. This area had two marinas with a rather large harbour area in which we anchored off the beach. The water is green with not a huge amount of visibility but cool and clean enough to swim in. The beach has a golden type of sand but with lots of algae type weed and rocks and very hot close to the shore. Not inviting enough for me to swim ...

Casita Jasmin Torrevieja Spain Home Ahhhhh, It is exactly what we all needed. Peace. Laundry, pool, wine, and coffee. We arrived in Alicante last night by first class train (it was nicer than our transatlantic flight if you can believe it!) at about 10 pm. The car rental place that we had booked a car from was, of course, at the airport, and we were a day late arriving. Upon reviewing our options, #1 take a train or cab to the airport, hope the car rental place is still open and hope ...

One day trip that the exchange group took all together was to Cartagena, the place where my madre was born and raised. We started the day with a climb up the tower that overlooks the port and the city itself. The tower was ridiculously high, but I was more amazed by the view of the Spanish ruins. In the midst of the city we could see the first church created in southern Spain and the remains of a Roman colosseum. Both stuck out among the other buildings, and both held my attention ...