day 101 – cartagena, spain

sunrise over small boat harbor at cartagena

bob’s drummer, dave, said he would sleep late today and cover me for a couple hours of my in-port manning duty so i could go grab a souvenir and a cup of coffee… i did just that, and walked into the pedestrians only shopping district – the shops didn’t open ‘til 10, but cafes were open, and i had a cappuccino, which in spain, is not a real cappuccino; it’s a coffee with a big blob of whipped cream and cocoa or cinnamon sprinkles… it was still nice, i still drank it, with fresh oj and a piece of toast… walked around some more and took a few snaps of the great architecture and a few murals… showed a friend where the wifi place was, had another not-cappuccino in a different café, and by then, the shops opened.  i went into a book store i had cased earlier, went in and found what i wanted: an authentic tapas cookbook!  score!  got it and headed back to the ship.  we were docked next to our newest, biggest ship, which i was contracted to be on now, actually, ‘til they asked me to do the world cruise instead – and lo and behold, outside on the pier, i ran into a friend who was on my grand oz voyage in ’09 and was bob’s roomie on his first contract – he is a steel drum player from the caribbean, and i was able to send hellos to our other musical pals on his ship… hi lucia and shane!  that was nice; truly a small world!

first electric battery submarine

nieuw and 'old' amsterdam

pedestrian shopping street

early morning before all the people fill square

many wall adornments on buildings

beautiful architecture

perfect way to start the day, coffee and fresh oj

after writing and doing my port song for the day, bob and i took it easy for the rest of the day… so good!  i got a great rest, went up to watch bob play, we had supper together, and had a good night.  tonight was our indonesian crew show, so i took one of my rare breaks so people would go watch… these folks work their buns off day in and out, and still rehearse after midnight and design costumes and put together their own band and really put on a show!  everyone can see me every night, but the indonesian crew show is only on once, so i make everyone go from my bar… my set tonight, by the way, was called “decade-ence,” a stroll through several decades, the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, a few 60’s, then it was time for the crew show.   i only watched the first bit, which was very entertaining!  first indonesian drag queen i’ve ever seen in a crew show – beautiful!  i bet most of the guests had no idea it was a guy!   a couple innovative variations on some stuff i had seen before (bravo, crew!), and then i went to my lounge to wait, in case any people who don’t like cultural-type shows came, there’s usually just one or two, but tonite kept ‘em all in or sent ‘em to bed, ‘cause my lounge stayed empty!  their show actually ran over, so i called it for the night at 11:30…

then it’s time to rest, because it’s my birthday tomorrow, and the kickoff to bob’s and my celebration week we haven’t had in 3 years together (my b-day, his b-day and our anniversary!  happy, happy, happy!  love you, bobby!)… yay!!!  since it is palm sunday, and very catholic spain, no shops will likely be open, but there will probably be some nice processions to watch, somewhere pretty to go for lunch, a nice park or three for a walk, picture taking of the nature, people, art and architecture of the scenic town of cadiz… and that will be, all in all, a lovely birthday!  bob got me the pretty souvenir italian glass jewelry this week to wear early (it goes with everything, by the way), and i got him a watch to wear early, since he hasn’t had one in a long time and is always wondering about the time when we are out… nothing too fancy, but handsome!  more from cadiz tomorrow!  xoxo, me

port song for cartagena, spain

(to the tune of “cherry pink and apple blossom white”)

in cartegena just for half a day, i only had a coffee break

i went and got a book of recipes so some tapas i could make

an adalusian pub phenomenon, the tapas started out to be

something to keep the flies out of your wine, and now they are a centerpiece

there’s tapas with vegetables, or fish or eggs, meat or cheese

for every preference there is something quite sure to please

some of them look pretty odd, and i won’t prepare, i think

like the lamb testicles, or squid in ink

but i am sure i’d like the prawn croquettes, or some Iberian pork fillet

some garlic scallops or the squid brochettes, or fish with garlic mayonnaise

they have suggested beverage pairings, too, beer or wine or maybe sherry

when i go home i’ll throw a tapas party, and we’ll eat drink and be merry!

it made me hungry to read and see the pictures so bright

i could probably eat tapas every week once or twice

tho i might skip the anchovies and the eggs with sardines

and also pass on the tripe and rabbit terrine

but i could get into the pepper rolls, grilled lobster or maybe stuffed clams

cabrales cheese balls or the snails in sauce, or torta with Serrano ham

i’m glad that cookbooks they will always write, in every country that we see

so i can bring these flavors home and have dinner parties for friends and family