Cartagena and Elx - November 10, 2010

Would you set sail in this? Not us!

A splendid old hotel in Cartagena

The 175 year old palm tree

It has been another beautiful day here in southern Spain. We arrived at sunrise in Cartagena, a port in the province of Murcia. Cartagena has a history of approximately 2500 years. The city was founded originally by the Carthaginians and it’s name is a variation of Carthage. Around 250 BC it was conquered by the Romans under Scipio Africanus. In the years since it has been conquered by Visigoths, Vandals, many different Arab rulers and finally Spain.

We took a tour to a small city about an hour away called Elx (pronounced El – che). On the way we traveled through one of the agricultural breadbaskets of Spain. We passed hundreds of fields of artichokes, citrus , olive and almond groves and other varieties of vegetables and grains.

Elx is home to a couple of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It’s the home of the largest palm garden in Europe. Started by a local priest, the botanical garden contains many varieties of palms, cacti and varieties of flowers from all over the world. The most remarkable tree we saw is a palm tree which is approximately 175 years old. It has one trunk coming out of the ground but a couple of feet above it divides into 8 huge trunks. Palm trees in the garden are dedicated to famous people who come to the place and “baptize” the tree with a bottle of wine around the base. The large palm was dedicated by the Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary when she visited around the turn of the 20th century.

The other UNESCO site is actually an event. At the cathedral in Elx each year in August on the Feast of the Assumption a play is performed in the church with local residents playing the roles of Apostles, angels and the Virgin Mary. It’s one of the few places in the world which is allowed to perform a play in a church. It has become so renowned that in a few months the cast of this years play will go to Rome to perform for the Pope.

After we returned to Cartagena we walked through the downtown area which has many beautiful and ornate buildings built in the early 20^th century. Along the waterfront is one of the earliest submarines. It was a very small one which was part of the Spanish navy around 1880. I can tell you, neither of us would have set sail in it!

We sailed at near sunset and had a spectacular view of the harbor surrounded by its 5 hills, each topped by a fort. It was easy to see why so many civilizations wanted to possess the city with its large natural and protected bay.