The Drive to Cartagena: A meandering Adventure
We picked up the car in Madrid. Our car is a Skoda Spaceback. It is a Czech made four door hatchback automatic with a very limited turning radius (which makes it its own special adventure in all the compact Spanish parking garages and cobbled streets). The drive from Madrid to Granada couldn't be more straight forward. It was a straight shot down a less than picturesque landscape and was an easy 3 hour drive.
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| Undeveloped Beach Cliffs near the Isleta del Moro |
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| Out the window on the drive from Granada |
From Granada to our next stop Cartegena, we decided to extend the drive so we could encompass one of the route highlighted in our Back Roads of Spain book. This glossy picture filled book has road trips listed for different portions of Spain including good pit stops. The drive "Secret Beaches" was just a little out of the way and only added an hour and some to the drive. What the book described as dramatic desertscapes leading to an undeveloped beach in some parts looked like a demilitarized zone and other parts just looked barren. We were also shocked by the sight of miles upon miles and I do mean miles and miles and miles of white tented greenhouses. We were driving through the hottest, driest portion of Spain. And despite the arid climate they still insisted on being an agricultural powerhouse. The white tented greenhouses were presumably to protect the plants from the sun (not to insulate from the cold) and the sight cluttered what would be pristine unobstructed views of the Mediterranean. The area was very very sparsely populated. A few small towns nestled into the the base of large hills as we drove down steep grades to the coast. But it was worth it. We had lunch at a beautiful secluded beach town that consisted of many 5 buildings (3 of which were restaurants) and the rest was people camping and small bungalows for Spanish tourists. It wasn't crowded and the fish was so fresh.
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| Many many greenhouses just a very small portion of the miles and miles we saw |
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| View from our table at a small restaurant in the Isleta del Moro |
Getting from this sleepy idyllic setting back to civilization was a daunting task. I have never been afraid of heights. I never understood people who were afraid of heights. I have stood on the roof of skyscrapers without fear, I have ridden Doctor Doom's free fall at Islands of Adventure. And yet driving on a narrow two lane road 3000 feet on the edge of a Mountain overlooking the Mediterranean scared the shit out of me. Sean who was keeping his eyes on the windy road says to me "Krystal, look out the window and enjoy the view for the both of us". Enjoy the view for both of us! I look out the window and it is terrifying. How can I enjoy that?! After clinging to what felt like the edge of the world, we drove through a seeming endless parade of touristy beach cities filled with sun-baked Brits. We took the toll road to Cartagena, not realizing just how expensive toll roads can be in Spain. The 70 km toll road cost almost 15 Euros! Now of course that does pay for all the tunnels they had to drill through the hills to keep the route close to the coast.
Cartagena:
Cartagena is a pretty cool city. This ancient Roman settlement has been an important port for pretty much every civilization that ruled Murcia (Roman, Moor, Spanish). It is also a popular cruise ship destination and the small city seems to cater to this crowd by offering a bustling boulevard of shops, restaurants and museums right near the cruise ship terminal. It was the first night on our trip that we stayed in a hotel. The hotel was on the outskirts of the historic old town but easy quick walking distance to many great restaurants and the long granite pave stone pedestrian street that leads down to the port. We walked around and explored the old part of the city getting a feel for it. It has a lot of great architecture including several modernisme buildings.
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| Main Pedestrian Street in Cartagena |
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| Awesome building housing the Tourist Office in Cartagena |
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| Another view of Cartagena |
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| Street Art in Cartagena |
Our first meal in the city was fabulous and was the best meal we had eaten in our first 9 days in Spain. The receptionist at the hotel recommended we dine at the restaurant La Marquesita. I told her I just wanted really good food and no tourists. Although she informed me it was a local holiday Saint Juan and that everywhere would have tourists, she did not steer us wrong by recommending this place. It was fabulous. We were able to sit outside on the patio overlooking the courtyard and observe the traditional Saint Juan activities (which involve lots of kids and fireworks/firecrackers). The meal came with a small bite to start it was a small pastry with an unusual filling. We then ordered some croquettes. We had a lot of sub par Croquettes while traveling Spain but these were fresh and crispy. We had a mix of beef and bacalao, both were yummy. The filling was hot and fresh with a creamy melt in your mouth texture encased in a perfectly crispy ball. My husband ordered the ox tail with red wine and it was a massive portion (three full vertebrae) of slow cooked beef falling apart tender with a rich sauce and sauteed potatoes. I ordered the fresh foie gras with a balsamic reduction (a very classic French dish) and it was sublime. The portion of foie was understandable small (it is quite rich) and was served with crispy french fries. The dish could have used a vegetable side dish to help cut through the fat but it was none the less tasty. Both dishes were superb and part of their regular menu. I would recommend both. For dessert, we split the leche frita (fried milk) which is a traditional Spanish custard that is then deep fried in a cinnamon breading and was served with cold vanilla ice cream. My husband is looking for a recipe as we speak. It was a fun way to end the meal and delicious. The meal ended with a complimentary glass of Spanish dessert wine. All in all it was a fabulous meal. A local couple sitting nearby struck up a conversation with Sean in Spanish and were excited to learn we were from the United States. Both the waiter and the man sitting nearby explained that all the commotion was uncommon and part of the Saint Juan celebration that traditionally involves creating bonfires (in some cities using old furniture). A quick search on wikipedia revealed it is a local celebration of the solstice adopted as a catholic holiday in Southern Spain. One town in particular has adopted it as its local festival and has an almost carnivale type celebration.
The next day we set out to see a few of the key museums in town. First we went to the National Museum of Sub-Aquatic Archeology. Now given the very specific nature of this museum, I half expected a small hole in the wall museum with an antiquated collection (particularly for 3 Euros). But I have been fooled enough times I should know better. This large slender modern rectangular building was the winner of a national architecture award and sits steps from the cruise ship terminal. Inside is a long gallery with artifacts in well lit glass cases with both Spanish and English signage. Throughout the exhibit are several interactive stations that use technology to help highlight the work of underwater archeologists. It turns out Spain and in particular the coast near Cartagena has been the sight of a few shipwrecks. The museum most prominently displays a Phonetician shipwreck from like the 7th century BC.
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| Interior of the Sub-Aquatic Archeology Museum |
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| Sean at an interactive display |
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| Fake science lab |
After exploring the museum we had a drink in the cafe on the third floor. There was a great view of the marina and beer was only 1.5 Euros and included a dish of olives. Feeling refreshed we headed to the roman theater. Now this is a crazy story. These ruins of a theater were only recently discovered having long been buried in a hill in a largely undeveloped part of town. Apparently the city has had many periods of rapid population growth and then complete population collapse. This site is right by the waterfront in the now developed tourist district and dates back to Roman occupation of the city. The emperor himself commissioned the 7000 seat theater to be built to help promote civic activity and reinforce the prominence of roman culture in this 'colonized' port. It was widely used before being largely abandoned and then forgot with shifts in rulers and population. It is one of the best preserved roman sites in the world. Interestingly part of the theater walls were incorporated into a Moorish wall defense and later into a medieval church crypt.
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| Entrance to the Roman Theater |
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| Roman Theater, Cartagena |
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| Roman Theater |
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| Sean in the Roman Theater |
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| Re-purposed portion of the theater |
Following the roman theater we stopped into a local bar for a snack. Prominently displayed were gourmet 'toasts' each between 1-2 euro. While hanging out at the bar we saw an advertisement for a layered coffee drink that seems widely popular in Cartagena made with condensed milk, espresso, brandy and topped with foamed milk. It is a bit too sweet for my tastes but for a 1.5 euro it was worth a try.
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| Awesome Bar Snacks for 1-2 Euro |
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| Strange Coffee Drink |
For our second real meal in Cartagena, we turned to our receptionist (if only because the wifi was still uncooperative). She recommended El Barrio de San Roque. This restaurant had a beautiful interior and place settings for a fine dining experience. Even with these fancy touches, the restaurant offered a menu de dia that at 20 Euro was a bargain including a glass of wine (or beer or water or soda), an appetizer, an entree, dessert, bread and coffee. They offered us a little bite to start that was a small shot glass with a cool red soup and a piece of toast. My husband and I both got a salmon and vegetable started his was roasted vegetables and mine with fresh. Both included a marinated vegetable topped with salmon and roe in a neat circle with toast. Good but nothing to write home about. The main course though "ooooh" good. My husband had the fish which was perfectly cooked and flakey. And I had the steak which was an unusual cut very thin and cooked on a hot grill giving it a perfect sear. Both were served with a dollop of mashed potatoes and an orange gastrique. The food was kind of 'no frills' but the quality was so high it really let the delicious natural flavors come through. It was also here I learned that despite the term medio rare as an option for how I wanted my steak cooked, the Spanish word for what I actually wanted (a warm red/pink center) is called punto. The waiter did a good job of explaining the different levels of done-ness and it came out cooked perfectly. The menu de dia came with a specific dessert for that night whose name escaped me but the waiter described it to us as a puff pastry. I naively imagined a puff pastry one might get from a typical Vietnamese restaurant in the United States and was stunned to find a massive dessert with layers of puff pastry sandwiching a thick almost cheese-like cream a top a melted smear of semi-sweet chocolate. It wasn't too sweet and was a nice finish. After dessert we were served espresso and finally a glass of Spanish dessert wine that was sickenly sweet.
Vall d'Uixo: home of the underground river
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| Stock image of caves from riosubterraneo.com |
The drive from Cartagena to Girona was too long to comfortably do in one day so we planned a pit stop in a random town that I literally found by googling the strangely named city. Upon doing so I found they have an amazing geological tourist attraction completely unmentioned in any prominent guidebooks. There isn't even an English Wikipedia entry on it. The town is tiny and suburban (our hotel was Spanish "Walmart" adjacent and we had to have passed 10 supermarkets). It was the first time in Spain we had seen a real parking lot.Since we were only here for one night we went straight to the caves. They were on the edge of town in a large city park. It looked like a lot of effort had been put in to making the area a tourist attraction but despite the consideration it was largely deserted. The trip through the caves was super cool. Sadly they don't allow pictures and none of the guide was in English so I can't say much more about it than it was super neat. They take you on small boats through the caves. Many portions require you to duck low as you follow the river through the rocks. They don't know where the origin of the river is or where it ends. It is formed by water moving through solid rock slowly working soluble minerals out of the rock leaving only the insoluble minerals behind.
Another awesome feature of this small town was the restaurant El Guano. It had amazing reviews on trip advisor and it did not disappoint. We were the only people in the restaurant on the Thursday night so it felt like Sean rented the whole place out for us. We were seated near the wine cellar. The service was exceptional. We ordered some house specialties including the garlic shrimp (which was amazing), foie gras, bacalao with a parmesan crust (which seems like an odd pairing, fish and cheese but was so delicious) and a slow cooked lamb with couscous. Like most fine dining establishments in Spain it included a tiny bite to start the meal, fried plantain chips, fresh baked bread, and to end the meal a dessert wine. Such an amazing restaurant in a town this size is a bit surprising but it was one of the best meals we had the whole trip.
Driving to Girona// Driving in Spain in general
Some interesting things about driving in Spain:
1. Most of the radio stations play music in English. Also they have these 'national' radio stations such as 'Rock FM' and the car will automatically change to the next local iteration of the station.
2. No matter where you are in Spain you will randomly pass abandoned/ unused Moorish or Medieval military forts on hill tops
3. A big red slash through a sign does not mean 'no ----' it means 'end of ----'
4. Toll Roads are hella expensive. To drive from Vall d' Uxo to Girona, you kind of have to take the toll road (the alternate route adds like 90 minutes and is super complicated) but we paid like $50 in tolls
5. There are a million roundabouts no matter how small the city is, every intersection is a roundabout
6. People actually reserve the fast lane for passing.
7. Turns out the kilometer system is far superior to the mile system. Particularly given how well signed everything in Spain is on the freeway. All the exits are marked by kilometer. When you approach an exit it tells you how many meters it is until the exit 1000, 750, 500, 250, exit now idiot.
The drive from Vall D'Uxo to Girona got increasingly beautiful as we moved towards Catalan. The once desert landscape became very agricultural with orchards of oranges. The orange orchards become rolling hills with lush grass and trees. When we arrived in Girona, we knew we were staying in the old town. Driving through the old town was its own special adventure. We ended up almost driving into the main Cathedral. And at one point were convinced we were trapped. We were at the top of the hill by the Cathedral and all the roads said do not enter. We were tempted to go down the hill the wrong way on a one way road when we saw another car make its way out of the maze. The correct way out was through an arch that looked like a pedestrian walk way barely and I mean barely wide enough for a car. We inched through the opening careful to dodge pedestrians as the car rattled over the cobblestones. Despite the deceptive look to the roads, we made it out of the cathedral and up to the University that has free parking. We were able to park the car and venture to our apartment in the old town. I will just say Girona is a super awesome place and I am excited to continue sharing our trip in the next few days.
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| Stock image of caves from riosubterraneo.com |
Driving to Girona// Driving in Spain in general
Some interesting things about driving in Spain:
1. Most of the radio stations play music in English. Also they have these 'national' radio stations such as 'Rock FM' and the car will automatically change to the next local iteration of the station.
2. No matter where you are in Spain you will randomly pass abandoned/ unused Moorish or Medieval military forts on hill tops
3. A big red slash through a sign does not mean 'no ----' it means 'end of ----'
4. Toll Roads are hella expensive. To drive from Vall d' Uxo to Girona, you kind of have to take the toll road (the alternate route adds like 90 minutes and is super complicated) but we paid like $50 in tolls
5. There are a million roundabouts no matter how small the city is, every intersection is a roundabout
6. People actually reserve the fast lane for passing.
7. Turns out the kilometer system is far superior to the mile system. Particularly given how well signed everything in Spain is on the freeway. All the exits are marked by kilometer. When you approach an exit it tells you how many meters it is until the exit 1000, 750, 500, 250, exit now idiot.
The drive from Vall D'Uxo to Girona got increasingly beautiful as we moved towards Catalan. The once desert landscape became very agricultural with orchards of oranges. The orange orchards become rolling hills with lush grass and trees. When we arrived in Girona, we knew we were staying in the old town. Driving through the old town was its own special adventure. We ended up almost driving into the main Cathedral. And at one point were convinced we were trapped. We were at the top of the hill by the Cathedral and all the roads said do not enter. We were tempted to go down the hill the wrong way on a one way road when we saw another car make its way out of the maze. The correct way out was through an arch that looked like a pedestrian walk way barely and I mean barely wide enough for a car. We inched through the opening careful to dodge pedestrians as the car rattled over the cobblestones. Despite the deceptive look to the roads, we made it out of the cathedral and up to the University that has free parking. We were able to park the car and venture to our apartment in the old town. I will just say Girona is a super awesome place and I am excited to continue sharing our trip in the next few days.
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