¡Paella! (Cartagena, Espana)

 

The well defended port of Cartagena has been our home for the last two nights. It’s a mixed port: tourist cruisers, warships, container ships and marinas all enclosed by a large harbour. The outer harbour is full with pill boxes dotted on the surrounding cliffs to deter any unwanted guests.

We’d booked to come here 2 years ago.. but with one thing and another it never quite happened. We used our long deposited €100 deposit to take a couple of nights out of the swell with the added luxuries of electricity, hot showers and washing machines.

It’s strange being back in a marina; the liveaboard locals greeting us with either cautious glances or beaming grins. Anyway, not a bad spot.

There’s a touch of bygone Empire about the harbourfront - with well spaced palm tree promenades and tall regal facades looking out onto the bay.

This was all sadly obscured by ‘Aida’ a tower block of a cruise liner who’d all but covered the town on our arrival - we were glad when she tooted a deep bass farewell at sunset on our first evening there.

We wandered the town on a restaurant hunt, me leading the way down likely streets.... which - unsurprisingly- ended up with us in a somewhat shifty part of town, with boarded up shops and occasional groups of loitering ne’er do wells.

Happily this little detour then looped us back into bars and restaurants. Enjoyed a local beer on a wide square, then onto dinner at not very Spanish pizza place - which was very good.

There’s lots of dogs here and absolutely zero cats so far - a major contrast with Greece where it’s the complete opposite.

On the second night after a long day of boat jobs and laundry we treated ourselves to dinner out for the second night in a row.

Opting for a more local dish, we enjoyed a seafood paella sitting outside one of the old established restaurants along the main (marble) street. The food was good - possibly not as good as their sign suggested: “We don’t speak very much English but we make the best Paella in town”. With tired legs and full bellies we headed home and spent the rest of the evening back on the boat watching a large container ship being unloaded.

Left there this morning - Making more southwards progress as I write this with a reefed main and jenoa which are pulling us along nicely...