Eurasia Mega Trip 2026 - Days Sixty And Sixty One - Cartagena Picture Marathon Two - History, Patterns/Reflection, Night

We are finishing off our photographic exploration of Cartagena. 

As I mentioned in the last post, despite not being terribly excited to begin with, there ended up being a wealth of things to study. I've categorized them in this post as History, Patterns/Reflection, and Night.

 History

It is EVERYWHERE in this city. The old city is pretty narrow. If all you do is walk the main artery from the waterfront to the end of the old city, you don't see much. All it takes is moving off on to the side streets and you you are suddenly immersed into a world where around every corner there is something reminding you of the deep past. I can be your overseeing some kind of excavation or major site (like the Roman Theater) that is completely surrounded by the town. Or it can be the vast number of murals that are on the walls and on the dividers that separate the street from the construction. 

 

 

 

 

 Example of a facade wall with nothing behind it (yet)

 

 

 Examples of separation walls with murals with actual ruins behind them 

 

 

Excavation, Reconstruction, Murals

 

 

Massive Amounts of Murals and Historical Street Art

Patterns and Reflections

We came to what is the gate of the Naval Arsenal, which I took shots of but was not terribly impressed.

However across the street from it was something which I am not quite sure what it was. Maybe something to protect from the sun (because there was playground close by)? But it offered a very interesting opportunity

 

 

The sun was setting and the opportunities for light reflection abounded

 

 

One are in particular

 

 

Provided a wealth

 

 

The Reflections of Espouses Fotograficus

 

 

And we will finish up with a tour of the Old City at Night

 

 

Eurasia Mega Trip 2026 - Days Sixty And Sixty One - Cartagena Picture Marathon One - Daylight, Port, Construction

Niece RMG has been returned to her stomping grounds in Madrid. Rumor has it of perturbations and disquiet among the barbarian, nomadic tribes of the far North of Europe. We have been put on alert to duty to defend the Alicante/Elche Airport tomorrow.

In the meantime there were another mass number of pictures to be processed, organized, and posted. We will be doing this in two posts. The first...

Daylight, Port & Construction

 We arrive in the old quarter of Cartagena, do a bang-up job of parking in the classic European Parking Garage from Hell, and are able to check into our hotel AND get our room an hour before it is scheduled. Then it is on the streets to start shooting.

 "Listen. I understand there is a world renowned blogging couple taking pictures here today. Make sure that sun goes down on schedule. Hear me?"

 

 On one of the main plazas

 

 

 Down by the waterfront looking into the city

 

 

 Cartagena is on the 'cruise circuit'

The Ancient Enemy

 

 Throngs of Cruise Shippers returning to their hive just before the ship sails off

 

 Photographer and Companion moping until they are gone

 

 Finally

 On our harbor tour there was a ton of history

It has been and remains an important port for the Spanish Navy

 

 There are a bizillion (well maybe a bit fewer than a bizillion...but a lot!) of fortifications built from the late Middle Ages through the Modern period to defend the harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Two Lighthouses. Green marks the entrance. Red the exit

 

 

 

 Birds in the Light

 

 

 Can we talk about architectural scaffolding?

 After many disappointments this trip, the MOTHER LODE of all architecture scaffolding was found here in Cartagena. I swear, half of the town is being rebuilt. You would wander a street, look at the building front and realize it was just a facade for a complete tear down behind it. I did some research afterwards and a number of factors are driving this. First, the overall economy and government support for reconstruction have led to a boom in the building to support the new tourist related economy. That combined with strict rules for preserving historic architecture result in the process of maintaining the exterior and building a modern building behind it.

 

 

 

SIGNS OF THE WORLD

 

You may not pour a glass of water and swim in it! 

(Who knew this was a problem?)

 

 

Card Playing is big in Cartagena