As you all know, I’m a massive fan of Miki de Goodaboom’s travel sketches so, when she got in touch about her trip to Cartagena, Spain, I jumped at the chance of her writing about it on Wanderarti, illustrated with her amazing watercolours. Here, Miki outlines some of the best places to visit, as well as highlights Cartagena’s fascinatingly rich history. Take it away Miki!
A short time ago (July 2014) I spent five days in Cartagena, Spain. It is a town which I hardly knew, and I believe, hardly any foreigner knows, although it is by the Mediterranean sea and quite close to many tourist destinations.
Most people think of Cartagena as simply a big military and industrial harbour… nothing could be further from the truth! I went there on the occasion of “La Mar de Musicas“ (The Sea of Music), an international music festival celebrated each year. Now in its twentieth year, many different stages were set up all over the town, most of them open air, and the town itself seemed to be vibrating, yet somehow without losing the kind of peaceful and relaxing atmosphere that seems to be very unique to Cartagena.
One of the first places I visited there was the harbour. I love the sea, and I love boats, so harbours are always my priority when I am in a seaside town. I did some sketches from the harbour in Cartagena, from land and also from the sea. I had booked a one hour trip on a catamaran, following the coast of Cartagena around its most historical points. I always enjoy a trip on a boat, having different views of a place from the sea who sometimes gives rise to unusual paint motifs.
Amongst the many diverse and interesting boats around the sprawling harbour, my eye was caught particularly by this beautiful red one, which revealed itself to be a salvage boat. This was the kind of boat I had seen recently every day on the TV, as they were trying to find the Malaysian plane which had disappeared a story I had eagerly followed on the news… Somehow, to see such a boat in reality filled me with strong emotions, and I needed to paint that boat. I had not much time to sketch it as we sailed past it (and also it was a bit shaky…), so I drew the main lines and made some notes about the colours, adding them with watercolours later at home.
In the town itself, I was impressed by the beautiful historical buildings, and especially the town hall. It is often the case in Spain that the town halls are the most beautiful buildings in a town! The town hall in Cartagena is a very complicated architecture to draw, so, as usual, I went for a rough impression, without taking care of details, just rendering the main impression of artistic beauty and light.
One of the concerts took place in the old cathedral which, nowadays, only consists of a facade and columns. It has been in ruins since 1939, as it was destroyed when Cartagena was shelled in the Spanish Civil War by Nationalist forces.
I went inside the building in the afternoon, while musicians were doing the sound check. It was an incredible setting for a gig, an open air church as the roof was gone, the stage set-up between antique columns and hundreds of candles lit in a corner by religious people! You can see the old cathedral on the following painting, at the end of the street. In the foreground was an amazing mural, featuring some kind of big battle. By the way, I spotted some very unusual and artistic murals in Cartagena: so, if you are into that kind of art, keep an eye open when you are there.
In 1988 a Roman theatre was discovered during building works near the old cathedral. It was found that the old cathedral had been built over the upper part of the theatre, using some material from the theatre. On the right side of the following sketch, you can see a peculiarity of Cartagena: big house facades, with nothing behind! Initially I was wondering what it was all about, all these towering walls with holes instead of windows and blue sky behind. Finally, I understood that the town was apparently keeping the facades and building new structures behind, just to keep the face of the historic town. A fabulous idea!
The fortress and gardens on the hill overlooking the harbour also played host to some of the music festival, in several venues set amid the attractive landscape, including one more modern ‘amphitheatre’. A myriad of steps and pathways between the trees and foliage criss-crossed the hill, and for those who don’t fancy the fairly challenging walk up from the town, there is a modern glass lift that will take you straight up in the air, rewarding you with a vertiginous walk across a footbridge from the steel lift shaft back onto the welcoming terra firma of the hilltop!
There are many other spots in Cartagena worthy of seeing and painting, but well, I was there mainly for the music and had to make some compromises.
I would recommend people who want to visit the town and would like to add a day trip to the beach, to drive to the nearby town of Mazarrón, by the sea. There is a lovely beach, still very Spanish, and amazingly not invaded by tourists!
Thanks so much Miki for sharing your insights into this amazing place! You can see more of Miki’s work on her website.
Have you been to Cartagena? Do you have any more tips to add? Join the conversation below!
Finally… Musement, a site offering museum tickets, art tours, and cultural activities has kindly let Wanderarti readers get €5 off purchases. Just use the code WANDERARTI and you can get discounted offers all over Europe!
