March 29, 2015


Cartagena is behind us.  Rome is ahead.  There is one more day at sea and one last talk for this cruise.  And this will be the last blog until we are settled into our Bed & Breakfast in Civitavecchia.

Our first stop this morning (after having coffee and hot chocolate arrive at 7:02, while we were still asleep – “David!  There is someone at the door!”) was a Roman Theater.  Like Chicken Man, they are everywhere.  This one was quite unique – the layout was the basic semi-circular pattern: stage, stairs and seats.  But the presentation was most impressive.

We entered the museum, bought our tickets and then worked our way up four flights of stairs (with the help of escalators), stopping along the way to look at various exhibits.  At the top, we walked out into a beautiful Spanish sunshine, and were standing near the top of the theater.  It is surrounded by houses, churches, shops, and buildings of many kinds, and completely hidden from the outside.  Unlike the one in Malaga, you can visit all the parts of the theater – and I did.  Very, very nice.

From there we went to an excavated Roman Bath.  Some of the panels on the walls still showed the original colors, and in one section, the herringbone pattern of the original floor was still in tact.

The last stop was the home of a Roman nobleman.  This was our least favorite place, mainly because there is so little of it excavated, and to my untrained eyes, each room looked like the last one.  You could, however, see the name engraved on the threshold, which gives the dwelling it’s name: Porto Fortuna.

Today, as you know, is Palm Sunday, and Cartagena was preparing for a parade at 5 p.m.  Sadly, we sailed at 3:30, and we wondered if we sailed early to be out of the way of it.  We did get to see one part.  A Roman legion marched through the streets.  Most impressive.

We saw something tonight on board we have never seen in any cruise we have ever done.  This is formal night, and a couple arrived at the dining room dressed in casual clothes.  The maitre d’ turned them away, remarking that it was formal night.  Like some church people I’ve pastored, they said, “We didn’t know it.”  The maitre d’ said, “It is in today’s program.”  And the answer: “We don’t read it.”  How refreshing to have the rules enforced!

Bonnie went to the Promenade Deck and watched the sail away.  I was working in our stateroom.  She said it was fun watching the local harbor pilot climb down from our moving cruise ship to his small pilot boat and then sail away.

Well, that’s all until Rome.  This has been a fantastic cruise!

TTFN!