Cartegena

Are we nearly there yet?
Mike & Sarah
Sun 8 Aug 2010 19:20
37:35.78N 0:58.69W
 
5th August 2010
 
Entered Cartegana harbour, a mixture of commercial, fishing and military and tied up in the YPC marina. The staff extremely helpful and very friendly. All the berths are against fingers. Unusual in the Med, but much better than bows/stern to and lazy lines. After going through the formalities of submitting passports and ship's papers an exploratory walk into the nearby town proved a revelation. The seafront walks are immaculately lawned and gardened. Behind the old city walls are pedestrianised streets, paved throughout with marble and lined by lots of posh shops. Cafes and restaurants to suite all taste, all with tables out of doors. We have just taken it for granted that each day is likely to be warm (>28 deg C) and sunny.
Apparantly the town was a bit of a mess until comparitively recently. It is now undergoing a complete makeover. There is  some very beautiful architecture around and in many instances the facades have been retained, whilst the buildings behind have been demolished and rebuilt. Looks like a lot of EU money has been spent around here!