Tribute to Annika and Leo

Cartagena

August 20th-21st

Our new friends VJ and Rosh from Sunseed were so kind to take us to the bus stop in Sorbas for our 6:30 am bus to Vera even though they only had three hours of sleep. Being at the mercy of public transportation we had to take this bus because the connecting bus to Cartagena from Vera was at 11:00 am. The bus was right on time and we even got to watch sunrise. We were heading to Cartagena so we could check out the old stomping grounds of our good friends Leo and Annika who lived there for 4 years before moving to Kauai. What a change of scenery, probably as drastic as ours from Arizona. Not too many shades of green in Cartagena, but they do have the Mediterranean See. We arrived in town and had a nice walk to our hotel in the heat of the day so when we hit our room the clothes were off; we cranked up the AC to full blast; took a long awaited “real” shower and then hit the clean white sheets for a siesta. Oh heaven!!!

After a blissful rest we ventured out to old town and the harbor area for some dinner. We had been complete omnivores for 10 days so we were on the hunt for some meat. Actually we ate very well at Sunseed and probably will change our diet for the better. That could wait. We wondered upon a waterfront café and pulled up a chair and ordered a few beers and a meal and enjoyed our view of the sea. Although the days are hot and sticky from the humidity, the nights cool off rather nicely and are very enjoyable. We did a quick Blackberry photo and emailed a message to our friends Annika and Leo to let them know we were here. Unfortunately the dinner was anti-climatic and we both wished for some of the excellent food from Sunseed. It is amazing the 101 different ways to use vegetables and beans. We finished off the evening with a stroll through old town. It was a nice change from the hectic cities and the town was surprisedly quiet.

We chose to stay two days so that we would be able to hit the beaches in La Manga where Annika and Leo lived. Everyone in Spain must venture to the southern beaches in the summer because there was not a morsel of sand which did not have a blanket or umbrella. We can definitely understand why they flock to these beaches. It has to be the warmest water on Earth. My kind of sea- bathtub temperature and gentlely rolling waves with very little current or under tow. We spent 4 hours at the beach near Cabo de Palos.

The area reminded us very much of Rocky Point. After a 30 minute stroll we stopped at a little beach hut and had a Tinto Verano (our new favorite drink-red wine and lemon soda). As we were enjoying our drink with our thousand dollar view under the shade of the perfectly positioned umbrella we both had cardiac arrest when we realized we had just used our last euro. The Tinto Verano did not seem to taste so good now because it was going to be a long walk home. We needed 2 euro 50 for the bus ride and we only had a total of 2 euros. We started thinking of our plan B- do an 18 mile hike in 90 degree weather or try and hitch a ride. Neither sounded appealing so we decided to finish our drinks and prayed that a euro would fall from heaven. We checked our pockets for any loose change and emptied our beach bag hoping for anything, something. When we left the hotel I did not even think of getting money because I had remembered my credit card and figured I could get money when we were in La Manga. Well I grabbed my credit card and not my debit card so I could not access an ATM and as advanced as the bus system may be in Spain, they are not equipped with credit card machines as of yet. As Roby reached into the zipper section of our Michael Jordan daypack he pulled out three shiny euros to our delight. A big sigh of relief came over us and we enjoyed our last sips of our drinks. Truly our best Tinto Veranos!!!

Later that night we celebrated in our well worn wrinkled “dress clothes” at the Columbus Restaurant in old town. I guess the Spainards take claim to him since they financed his trip(As a side note, Columbus discussed his voyage and request for money with the King at Alhambra in Granada.) We bid our farewell to Cartagena and had wished our friends could have been with us, but they were with us in spirit.