A Look Back @ Spain

(Blogger’s Note: This was written several days ago. But due to on again/off again Internet connectivity and sheer physical exhaustion from exploring Florence, Rome and Naples on foot, I’m hoping I can get this posted…finally…today.)

Somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, Thursday, September 24, 2015 – As I write this, we are enjoying a much-needed sea day on our way to Livorno, Italy, cruising surprisingly close to the southern coast of France. I wanted to wait until after I visited Barcelona yesterday, our final stop in Spain, before I tried to comment on my experiences during the past week.

With four stops in Spain, plus a day on the gorgeous island of Mallorca off the coast of Spain, it’s a little hard not to feel overwhelmed by it all. If nothing else, I’m battling fatigue and suffering from assorted aches and pains. By my own estimation, my exploration of Spain, on average, has involved five or six miles of walking each day. And as anyone who has visited Spain can attest, the country is surprisingly hilly. So, there is a lot of climbing up and down steps and navigating uneven, cobble-stoned streets. It’s hell on ankles and knees.

I have barely begun this journey, so I’m trying to keep in mind that it’s a marathon and not a race. I’d prefer not to arrive in Fort Lauderdale in December on a stretcher.

It’s also important to be realistic about what I can accomplish. The fact I’m only given, on average, less than seven hours in any one city means that I’m going to be leaving a lot of must-see sights and activities on the table. The fact I saw as much of Barcelona as I did and got out of town without being robbed? That’s a good day.

Obviously, traveling alone presents some risks. And my choice to explore many places on my own, not among a tour group, only increases that risk.

I’m not paranoid. I’m not walking around scared. And truthfully, there hasn’t been a moment anywhere I’ve felt afraid. But just being aware of my vulnerability, I believe, is one of the best ways to protect myself. That has not kept me from heading down sketchy alleyways that I’m quite sure my attorney would prefer that I NOT venture into.

Here are a few take-aways from my experience in Spain:

For starters, the geography is surprisingly similar to the coast of California around San Clemente or Camp Pendleton between LA and San Diego. Arid, hilly, somewhat mountainous.

Each city we visited was unique in its own way, but universally Spanish in architecture, culture and language. I chose to post the image of the archway in Barcelona because it is classically Spain. I was walking down one of those bendy/winding side streets. Calling it a “street” is actually being generous. Suddenly, I came across this series of arches leading into a courtyard with another set of arches on the other side leading into a massive plaza. It said “Spain” to me because Spain is all about finding beauty in unexpected places.

Another observation: France has always gotten a pretty bad rap about their snotty attitude about speaking English. Well, aside from Mallorca, nobody seemed especially anxious to speak English anywhere in Spain. Nobody was especially thrilled about me being an American, either. I was definitely more curious about them than they were about me. And my clumsy attempts to inject some high school Spanish into my efforts to communicate only seemed to piss them off more. I can’t blame them, actually.

Walking into a store saying “Hola, buenos dias!” And then they fire back at you with an appropriate response, only to see that blank look of total fucking confusion on your dumb face?

Not good.

Better to just start out talking English and, worse comes to worse, you end up drawing them a picture of what you need.

Spain is also about cats. Feral cats, especially in Almeria. But for all my cat lovers out there, you’ll be comforted to know the gatos seem to be somewhat cared for by some angels somewhere. (Someone is feeding them.)

Flies. Everywhere I went in Spain, I was annoyed by the constant presence of flies. It wasn’t quite so bad in Barcelona, but in Cadiz, Almeria and Mallorca, I was feeling like I was the Lord of the Flies.

As I said before, each of the cities was unique, architecturally. Cadiz had a more prominent Moorish influence, while Cartagena was more classically Roman. Almeria felt more like a Mediterranean resort town. More like the Jersey Shore than Old World Spain. And not to be trite, but every town had at least one kick-ass UNESCO World Heritage-class cathedral and fortified castle on a hill over-looking the port.

Cadiz is situated on a peninsula and is a very walkable city featuring a full complement of cathedrals and lovely plazas, the remains of an ancient Roman theater and active archeological dig. A wonderful horticultural park with hundreds of species of plants and flowers. A maze of narrow streets filled with cafes and restaurants. Balconies, dripping with vines and marygolds. And an old fortress and crescent-shaped beach located at the eastern tip.

Almeria is a busy port city with plenty of history. But, we arrived there on a Sunday and, as is often the case, the streets were deserted. Thankfully, I’d spent a few moments talking to my friend Sabina, the onboard Destination Consultant, who steered me to the beach. Six miles of Mediterranean paradise. Sand, crystalline waters, and a busy boardwalk filled with cafes and restaurants. On that Sunday, it seemed like the entire city was at the beach enjoying the sun, surf and sand. I walked the entire stretch.

And yes, some of the women were topless. But in every case, without exception, I had preferred if they weren’t. And I’m pretty sure I wasn’t alone in that sentiment.

I spent half of my time in Cartagena walking around with an older Australian couple. (Lots of Aussies onboard!) The city was nice, but they were a hoot. Like Cadiz, Cartagena’s tourist focus surrounded the ancient remains of a Roman theater/forum that had been hidden under the city’s streets until it was discovered in 2008. How it could have been there, unnoticed for over 2,000 years, is a bit of a head-scratcher. But it’s now a full-blown revenue-generating goldmine in the center of town.

The city of Cartagena itself is relatively undistinguished except for one truly amazing feature:
The entire city is paved in travertine marble. And I’m not just talking about using marble for pedestrian areas. They streets are all paved in perfectly smooth marble tiles just like the ones I used in my bathroom shower…and for which I paid over $12 a square foot.

I’m thinking either they have negotiated a sweet deal with Home Depot or they’re actually mining and milling those tiles somewhere nearby.

They drive cars and trucks over these tiles. And as if all the marble wasn’t amazing, I don’t think I’ve been to a city that was so clean! Much cleaner than my shower.

After Cartagena, we hit Mallorca.

There is a reason why so many really, really rich (Europeans, mainly Germans) and really, really famous people (Hollywood elites, like Michael Douglas, soccer stars and Formula One race car drivers) live in Mallorca:

It’s really, really fabulous.

There are only a handful of destinations on this trip where I have promised myself to spare no expense to explore. Mallorca was one of them.

Mallorca is an island off the coast of Spain and, while governed by Spain, enjoys at least some autonomy, as well as it’s own unique culture and dialect. (It’s a language all their own, with traces of French, mixed with Spanish, and God knows what else.)

I had done enough homework about Mallorca to know that the mountains, the coastline, and towns like Port de Soller were the places to see. Not the row of million dollar condos or upscale shops and boutiques in Palma. It’s a beautful city, but I knew there was more, and the chances of me ever being on the island of Mallorca again, highly unlikely. And unfortunately, the excursions offered by the cruise line were limited to the usual cathedral and castle tours.

So, I hired a car and driver, Sam, to take me on a private tour of the island.

We spent four hours together and the scenery was breath-taking. My photos (when I can finally upload them) will tell this story better. But I found it fun to not only see Oscar-winner Michael Douglas’ villa overlooking the Med, but the small village where Sam was born and continues to live with his wife and two kids.

We got back to the ship around 1:30 in the afternoon and I still had time to explore fancy-shmancy Palma.

The next day, I completed my exploration of Spain with a stop in Barcelona. A very sophisticated, modern city. The indoor marketplace just off Las Ramblas – the main boulevard through the city – is incredible.

Stalls brimming with fresh seafood, meats, produce, baked goods, olives, almonds. People haggling, pushing, shoving their carts through the crowds of tourists. You feel like you’re in a movie.

Back on Las Ramblas, the center median of the busy boulevard is lined with one outdoor cafe after another. The architecture was magnificent. The flow of people on the sidewalks, from locals to back-packing college students, provides a fascinating energy to this very modern, yet historically and artistically significant, city.

As I said before, it’s been non-stop since the ship pulled into Lisbon on Wednesday, September 16 at 6:02PM. And today’s sea day has been a welcomed rest.

Just a quick note: Reaching Barcelona completed the first segment of my journey to Singapore. We off-loaded about 400 passengers and took on around 600 newbies. The demographics have shifted dramatically, skewing a bit younger, more British and Canadian. The 61 Chinese nationals we picked up in Rotterdam – not one of whom spoke a word of English – have moved on, making conversation easier in the elevators.

The ship, according to my inside source, is now at her capacity, just shy 1,200. (Max capacity is around 1,280. But for some reason, the profitability sweet spot for hotels and cruise ships is about 10% less than maximum.) However my same source has also informed me that Venice-to-Singapore will be very light. And because of that, we’ll be losing many crew members. I’ve been joking that by the time we get to Singapore, I may be mixing my own drinks and making my own bed.

Then again…stranger things have happened.

On to Greece: https://www.magellanitis.com/2015/09/greek-island-of-corfu/