April 3 – At Sea. Finally a day to rest up and catch up. I got up fairly early considering we lost an hour last night. We're going to lose another one tonight. No the ship is not moving that fast, Morocco is in a different time zone than Spain and they don't do daylight savings, Spain does. That's why the two hours as we sail through the Strait of Gibraltar. It was a bit hazy this morning and we are on the African side of the strait but we could still see the Rock as we entered the Med. The Rock of Gibraltar in Europe and Monte Hacho in Africa are two sides of the same mountain range separated by the Strait of Gibraltar. They form the fabled "Pillars of Hercules".
Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened today.
Our entertainer was Larry Linkin, a clarinetist. We've seen him before, he does a great show. He plays music from the big band era, Goodman, Fontaine, that sort of music. Mixed in he also plays some classical, western and religious music. He has an easy and very smooth style although when the music calls for it he can get it going. He played two New Orleans funeral songs, one they play going to the cemetery and another that they play going home. Going to they always play sad sounding melodies at dirge speed. He played 'Just a Closer Walk with Thee' and it was mournful indeed. Going home the more upbeat and faster the better. His selection was 'As the Saints Go Marching In' and I guess it could be played hotter but I'm not sure how. Tomorrow we are in Spain so I'd better get my Suit of Lights ready. Just kidding!
April 4 – Cartagena, Spain. Cartagena is west of the famous Costa del Sol but is still in the dry sunny area. It's in the autonomous region of Murcia. Autonomous regions are almost the equivalent of a state in the USA in that they represent the first level down from the national government. We've been here before so we're heading out of town to Valencia, not the city but the autonomous region, to the city of Elche.
This entire area of southern Spain was under Moorish control for almost 800 years. During that time they brought palm trees to the sunny planes of the area. Over a hundred species of palms grow here; it's the largest palm forest in Europe. When the Spanish retook the area it was traditional to burn the surrounding forest in celebration. When James I, the Conqueror took Elche back from the Moors he decided not to burn the palm forest and has become known as James I, the Conqueror and Savior of the Palm Forest.
Our first stop in Elche is at the Huerto (literally, small plot of land) del Cura, the Garden of the Priest. The local priest owned it until 1918. In the 1940s Juan Roman purchased the garden and his efforts in improving the plant collection resulted in it being named a National Artistic Garden. There are over 1,000 date palms in the garden as well as other local and imported plants and trees. There's a very well laid out cactus garden, lily pond and reflecting pool. The garden's paths wind around the displays in very pleasant curves. The height of the plants makes every space feel very intimate and warm.
Two wood ducks, a male and female, were swimming in the reflecting pool. They are the prettiest waterfowl I've ever seen. They have two long feathers that extend back from their heads forming a cowl like look and their faces and bills are very colorful. They migrated through Pennsylvania when I was a kid and I always looked forward to seeing them. Several peacocks and some peahens are living in the garden. The peacocks were strutting around the pathways looking for the hens. The peahens had taken refuge on the roof of the ticket office and were definitely not answering the calls of the males.
There's some statuary in the garden. One is a bust of Jaime I (James) the savior of the palm forest. Another was of Juan Roman the man who perfected this Priest's Garden and the third was Sissi, aka Empress Elizabeth of Austria, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph. You might ask, 'What in the world is a bust of the Empress of the Austrian Empire doing here in southern Spain?' This would be an excellent question and one I asked our guide. He told me that she visited the garden in 1894 and Chaplain Castaño names the Imperial Palm in her honor. I've seen statues for Sissi everywhere from Greece to Spain. She was kind of a tragic figure but I don't want to get into that story here. It's long and very sad. Google here and you'll see what I mean.
The Imperial Palm is a very odd example of a species of palm that grows multiple trunks. Usually these 'children' form at the base of the original trunk and branch out to the side before turning upward. This process starts when the palm is 10 to 15 years old. On this palm the process did not start until the palm was 30 years old and the children sprouted about 7 feet from the ground. This produced a candelabra effect that is unique. Unfortunately the 8 children have become 8 tons of weight resting on the main trunk alone so mechanical support has been added to prevent the entire thing from collapsing. The tree is about 165 years old and still going strong.
Our time in the garden was very relaxing.
From the garden we went to the city park of Elche. The park is also part of the palm forest. It was finished in 1991 so it's very new as city parks go. It has a large children's playground and there were parents watching their kids play on the swings and scrambling around on the other structures.
From the park we walked to the Church of St Mary of the Assumption, actually Santa Maria de la Asuncion. This is obviously a Roman Catholic church as it celebrates the assumption of Mary, not really something we Protestants adopt. Theologically the way it goes is, the resurrected Christ ascended into heaven unaided, but Mary was carried to heaven by angels to be crowned by the Trinity as Queen. This is known as the Assumption or Dormition of Mary. I'm not sure how the Eastern Orthodox views this. That's something I've never encountered. Oh gosh, more research for when I get home. The story is told in the so-called apocryphal books of the bible, not accepted in the Protestant canon.
There is a marvelous carving in the tympanum of the main entrance. It show's Mary being carried to heaven by a pile of little angels with God and Jesus holding a crown above her and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovering over the scene.
This particular church is unique within the Roman tradition as it is the only church in the denomination that is allowed to conduct a play inside the sanctuary. They've been doing a play that depicts the Assumption for several hundred years and when the general ban on in sanctuary performances was issued they asked for an exemption and it was granted. The two performances are free but the church is always packed. You can buy a ticket to the 'dress rehearsals' that guarantees you a seat.
All the performers are male, young boys are recruited to play the female parts. They suspend a series of ropes from the church dome to simulate the assumption. Everyone who has to go up or down on this rig has to be tested for motion sickness and acrophobia. The play is a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Event, something similar to a UNESCO World Heritage Site for geographical locations. Also the Palm Forest of Elche is a World Heritage Site making the city one of the very few places to have one in each category.
The altar's reredo is a massive wood and gold leaf structure with a niche at the top to hold the statue of Mary of the Assumption. It's about as finely dressed as any image I've ever seen. Her robe of purple, white and gold represents her royal status and purity. The large crown on her head is filled with symbolism (ex: a dove for the Holy Spirit, a triangle for the Trinity, stars to represent her realm, heaven, etc.) Of course this image is carried in the annual procession that celebrates the day of the event.
From the church we walked to the main square of Elche and the central market. The produce was very nice but the cured hams and cheese took the prize. They had regional hams and cheese from all over Spain. Every region of the country has its proprietary way of curing ham and the labeling laws are strictly enforced. You can't call it Parma ham unless an approved processor in Parma made it. They did have a few vegetables that I didn't recognize. One looked like a long curvy green churro, I think it was some sort of squash. The other was a purple and white eggplant. Maybe I just don't spend enough time in the produce section of the market.
Pretty soon it was time to reassemble for out trip back to Cartagena and the ship. In the entry to the port they have a very small submarine on display. It's the very first modern sub. It used an electric motor for propulsion. The Spanish Navy sailed it for about three months and did not see any practical use for it so they sold it and the patents to the British. The rest, as they say, is history.
Our entertainer for the evening was Jeri Sager. Her genre is mainly show tunes. She did spend some time on Broadway and thankfully stayed with US musicals so there was absolutely no Andrew Lloyd Webber, much to my relief. Her show as well received.
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