I mentioned in a previous post that Cartagena was beautiful and has a lot of history. Let’s explore a bit of that today, beginning with the beauty! I find beauty in flowers, trees, water, buildings, artwork, mountains, theater, science, clouds, athletics, the printed word, people, etc. I bet you do, too!
Now let’s look at some street art!
Continue readingWe left Valencia while it was still dark since we had 60 nm to go and wanted to arrive in daylight. We were sent off by a chorus of “Adios!” by a group of drunk guys in a nearby boat. 🙂 🙂
Here are some pictures of leaving Valencia (we don’t know what was on fire) and the coast of Spain on our way to Cap d’Or anchorage.
When we got close the anchorage we put on our trusty headphones. We use these when we anchor or dock so we can hear each other. It is hard to hear the other person when it is windy (or even when it’s not), especially when you are facing a different direction. Before we got these, we yelled really loud . . . and still couldn’t hear each other. We just sounded angry. 🙂 🙂 🙂 The headphones enable us to speak at a normal volume. The sound is crystal clear even when it is uber windy. I feel like a Borg, though. (This is where we separate the Star Trek fans from the rest of the readers.)
Continue readingWe hadn’t been able to connect with the boatyard prior to going to Valencia. When we arrived, Michael met with a nice man from the yard and discussed what we needed. The gentleman told us he would get back to us with the price.
The price was really high.
So, Michael contacted the yard in Cartagena, the place that had come highly recommended by several sailors. The price was much less there. We decided to stay in Valencia and wait for a weather window. That meant we had a few days to sightsee! Yay!
I did a fair amount of research on “day trips from Valencia.” We knew we wouldn’t have a car, which limited us to some extent. In the end, we decided to take a day trip to XÃ tiva. That meant walking 30 minutes to the bus station, then taking two buses before taking the train to XÃ tiva. That all took about two hours. (We did the reverse on the way back, but with a slower train with many stops.)
The main thing to do in XÃ tiva is visit the castles on the hill. There’s actually no interior to speak of, save for a small area identified as a prison. It primarily consists of walking around the exterior and enjoying the views.
Description: “XÃ tiva Castle or Castillo de XÃ tiva is an imposing twin fortification which embodies the history of not only its town, but the region as a whole. The castle itself is split into its older part, Castell Menor, and its latter counterpart, Castell Major, with evidence of numerous cultures divided between the two including Iberian, Roman and medieval.”
Continue readingWe needed to leave Palma on April 2nd at noon because our berth was needed by another boat. One of the things I’d hoped to do that morning was mail a package. Despite my efforts, I had not been able to mail a package to our friends in Corfu.
Let me give you the background. I’d purchased some flower art – made on handmade paper – in Amalfi, Italy the previous September. I bought two pieces: one to keep and one to give our two friends as a thank you for hosting us at their lovely villa in Corfu. I wanted to frame both, so we took them to the U.S. when we visited in October-November. I boxed up the one for our friends and took it to the Post Office. The cost of mailing it to Greece was beyond anything I would have imagined. The woman working the window suggested I mail it from an EU country, as that would be cheaper. She also told me that I needed to put the box inside another box to protect it.
So back to Seahike went the artwork!
But Seahike (and we) were in Tunisia, which isn’t an EU country. We’d visited EU countries in January and February, but we wouldn’t have had time to find a bigger box and a Post Office, plus we didn’t have a big enough carryon bag in which to put the box. So we waited until we sailed to Sardinia in February. I went to a Post Office there and asked if I could purchase a larger box and mail it. They didn’t have boxes and had no idea where I could buy one. They suggested the market. The market didn’t sell boxes.
So back to Seahike went the artwork!
Continue readingMichael stayed on the boat on Saturday. I visited two main sights: Castell de Bellver and Catedral-BasÃlica de Santa MarÃa de Mallorca.
Bellver Castle is undoubtedly one of the most original, emblematic buildings in Mallorca’s history. It was built between 1300 and 1311 on the instructions of the King James II of Mallorca. However, the criterion behind the construction of Bellver Castle was defensive strategies planned by the Royal House of Mallorca. It was also conceived as a fortified palace where governors could safely take refuge in times of jeopardy and the monarchs used for longer or shorter stays.
It has a very specific original design, made up of a Gothic building that forms a perfect shape, with four big towers facing the four points of the compass. The keep faces north and it is separate from the rest of the castle, while the other towers are buttressed to the main body.
Some of the most remarkable architectural features on the outer façade of Bellver Castle are its arched mullion windows. Found on the upper story, they comprise two narrow semi-circular arches separated by a column. This kind of window, which can also be found inside the building, is fairly typical of Palma’s medieval architecture.
Work on the first moat that surrounds the castle was carried out in 1330. The moat prevented enemies from invading the castle, while also increasing its relative height. After this alteration to the castle, it saw few modifications. Only an outer ravelin surrounding the first moat and the third curtain wall were added, both related to the introduction and development of artillery on the island.
Okay, do you know what a ravelin is? I did not. This is the definition: “A ravelin is a V-shaped fortification built outside a castle’s main ditch to cover the area between two bastions. It has two embankments at a salient angle, and is located in front of the innerworks of a fortress, such as the bastions and curtain walls. The word ravelin comes from the Italian word rivellino, which is a diminutive of the word riva, meaning “rim” or “bank”. The word originated in Middle French between 1580 and 1590.”
Google Maps took me through town first, then on a nice little nature trail, then to the stairs. There are more stairs than pictured below.
