Day 12- Medieval Festivals Aren't Only For Nerds Who Still Live In Their Moms' Basements, Drive Their Parents' Minivans, And Wear Costumes On Days Not Named Halloween. Cruisers Are Welcome To Attend Also!

Since the previous day got off to such a fantastic start with a bird depositing its fecal matter all over me, I figured I should try and keep the awesome starts going.  So that I did, by grabbing a fantastically hot hair straightening iron before the day was even an hour old.  With me clutching my newfound satchel of ice, Colleen and I set out from the boat, as we had a new port of call to discover; Cartagena, Spain.

For those of you who slept through Spanish geography in high school, Cartagena is mid-size Mediterranean coastal town in the southeast of Spain.  Lesson done.  Due to my new found ailment, our first stop was the pharmacy to pick up some burn cream.  Following the as-expected and usually awkward English-Spanish language barrier moment we were sold some cream, although for all I know I could have been spreading hemorrhoid cream all over my hands.  With the mystery cream now working wonders on my hand we set out to explore the city.  After a couple of hours of exploration, we decided that there wasn't much going on and we started to head back to the cruise ship.  But then, a magical thing happened!  As we were making our way back, we stumbled upon one of the greatest things one could hope to stumble upon when wandering aimlessly through a European city: a medieval festival.   Yes, as if stepping in to some kind of magical time warp, it was as if we were transported back to a bygone era.  All around us there were suddenly people dressed in clothing from years past and there were vendors selling all sorts of things that I'm guessing King Arthur and his homies would have enjoyed.  There were blacksmiths making swords, gargantuan men making bread in stone ovens, birds of prey on exhibit, and a large assortment of singers, dancers, drummers, and other performers.  I must say it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.  As is par for the course with Colleen, we could not leave the event empty-handed, so some shopping was in order before we settled in for some medieval beer and sausages.  Sadly, despite everyone's attire, the pricing was still very much a year 2012 thing and not a 1512 thing as I had hoped. 

Back on the ship that night, Colleen and I were again treated to a lovely dinner, complete with some awesome bar tricks that our waiter taught me and I feel will be necessary for me to take back to Inuvik.  You never know when knowing how to fold a United States one dollar bill into a miniature dinner jacket might come in handy.  With our bellies full of some of the finest food you can find on the high seas, Colleen and I decided to hit up the casino for what I hoped would be a profitable night for me.  Instead, I lost a $400 hand to some tool who got lucky in poker and then proceeded to contribute a good amount of money to the onboard liquor merchants.  Colleen fared much better than I , and turned herself a tidy little profit at the blackjack table, while getting a little tipsy for the first time since hitting the ocean.  One of the many downsides to my physique upsides to cruising is that you have access to tasty food 24 hours a day.  Whether it be at the buffet (19 hours a day) or room service (24 hours a day), you are never that far from a slice of pizza or a middle of the night club sandwich.  With that being said, eating eight slices of pizza after ten beers seemed like a good idea at the time.  Not too sure my intestinal tract would agree though.

~Brentski~