So (after a slightly groggy start after the disturbed night) we got ready & started out on our Day of Culture…
First stop the was the panoramic lift (€4.25 which included entry into a castle up at the top). Check out the chins on the photo we took as we waited for the lift to arrive 😂.
The lift with the bridge was very reminiscent of Shanklin Cliff Lift (which we live next door to) so I’ve included a piccie of that too !.
The lift takes you to the highest point I the city where the 13th and 14th century fortress of the Castillo de la Concepcion stands offering fabulous views over the city & port.
See piccies of the Roman amphitheater & the panoramic lift (behind me & the palm tree 🏝) and also Dave standing on some ruins in a Usain Bolt stance !!!
Then we wandered into the castle – a lot of which has been added to & modernised to form a museum now devoted to the history of Cartagena. See spiral staircase (which we DIDN’T go up or down as Dave has an aversion !!!) and also everyone in the Middle Ages must have been short as we had to crouch to get from room to room – see Dave in action below… 😂
We watched a couple of info films (with English subtitles) and discovered Cartagena has Islamic roots but the good old Crusaders came along and put their Christian stamp on the place. So they all had to convert to Christianity or leave. Apparently they converted but still practised their own religion until King Alfonso X (“Alfonso The Wise”) got into power and deported them in the 13th century…
We came out then had a wander round El Parque Torres (Torres Park) where there was a lovely (very tame) peacock that some Spaniards were feeding then we came back down…
- Location: 37° 36′ 6.75″ N 0° 58′ 54.05″ W