I knew I was forgetting something about yesterday’s departure. The issue is that I really need to be sitting near the front of the bus, so I can get off the bus before the entire tour group has taken off for the hills. That and the steps in the front are easier to navigate.
Yesterday’s instructions, as we waited for our group to be called, included go-to-the-left-get-your-stickers-then-go-to-the-right-and-walk-to-the-gangway. So I decided to get a head’s start – I gave my ticket to Andy and started walking.
Then I saw that they had moved the sticker line to the other side, and the staff was issuing stickers and sending people on their way immediately. The guy handing out stickers, Joao, told me to get my husband’s ticket and come back (even though I told him we were five). Went back, got Andy’s ticket, went back to Joao, who finally realized that I really really meant five people, so then I had to go back and get everybody….by this time, we had saved nothing, but had provided some entertainment to everybody watching go back and forth.
BUT – Joao told me from now on, I come to him 5 minutes before our official wait time and he will give us all our stickers and we can proceed to the bus.
SO.
That’s what we did this morning. Worked like a charm! Stick with the lady with the walking stick!
Today’s guide was Pedro. Our tour would take us to Murcia first, about 40 minutes away.
Our first stop was at a monastery at the top of a huge hill. I personally didn’t find it all that exciting, but they did have a nice bathroom there (the most important part). Here is the view from the monastery:
Pedro explained that twice a year there is a procession on festival days to carry a statue of the Virgin Mary from the cathedral to the monastery and vice versa.
Back on the bus, we went to the central town square. We walked around the outside of the cathedral as he explained this particular feature – a chapel that had been added onto the cathedral by a town noble. The special feature was the stone chain around the outside of the chapel to symbolize that it was still a part of the cathedral:
Apparently, the noble didn’t want the artist to ever reproduce this feat again, so the noble had the artist’s hands chopped off. This was the 14th century Spain – welcome the dark ages and/or Game of Thrones.
Inside the cathedral we saw the statue of the Virgin Mary that is schlepped up and down the huge hill to and from the monastery:
We were scheduled to visit the “casino” (actually a very old “gentlemen’s club”), but there was a bit of a traffic jam. Instead, Pedro took us on a walk through the narrow streets of the old part of Murcia.
Pedro told us the story of this theater:
In the early 1800’s, a monastery was torn down to build the theater. The priest said, ok, but be warned that the theater will burn 3 times when it is full. Ten years later, the theater, full of people, burns down. It is rebuilt. Twenty years later, once again, the theater, full of people, burns down. It is rebuilt. They are still waiting for the third time. However, to ward off the third fire, the very last ticket is never sold, so that the theater is never “full”.
We make our way back to the “casino”. Each room has a different style:
This one is based on the Alambra
Women generally weren’t allowed, but when they were, they stayed in their one and only room. The ceiling depicted beautiful ladies doing appropriate lady things. And then this is what happens when you don’t follow the rules:
After the casino we had a lunch break, and then we went back to the bus to head back to Cartagena.
Cartagena is a small city with not much to see. We took an elevator up to a high vantage point. We were able to see a Roman amphitheater and nice views of the city. Ok, Andy and the rest of our crew were able to see the nice views of the city, but I sat on a bench and listened to the birds chirping, because the walk to the nice view include a bunch of steps and a not-insignificant hill:
Me, I watched this seagull on top of a 1,000 year old lighthouse:
That was the end of our tour – we were back at the bus in just a couple of minutes right at 4:00 p.m.
Another good day!
Tomorrow: Granada and the Alhambra! Woohoo!
Maryland Meshugas 