A little history

In the spring of 218 BC, the great Carthaginian general Hannibal lead his 60,000 man army off of the Iberian Peninsula and over the Alps to Italy.  Meanwhile, Cartagena fell to the Romans.  It remained under Roman control until the early 400s AD when the Germanic tribes took over.  Then, in the early 700s, the Muslims began their rule of Spain for more than seven centuries.  In 1492, Islamic rule in Spain was completely overthrown.  So, you can see that this area has had a very long and tumultuous history. 
While the Romans were in power, they built a Theater.
The Roman Theater was long forgotten and buried under nearly 2,000 years of construction until finally discovered in 1987. 
Cut into the hillside in one of the city’s old neighborhoods, the 6,000 seat theater is undergoing careful archeological excavation.  You can see that it is within walking distance of the port, and was one of the sites we visited on our walking tour yesterday.

Not too far from the theater was the remains of a much more modern structure…the Plaza de Toros.
This bull ring was built in the 1850s upon the foundation of a Roman gladiatorial arena.  You can only look at it from the outside, but it is still interesting.  Bull fights are a traditional sport in some parts of Spain.  When we were in Barcelona we learned that the Province of Catalonia has voted to outlaw bull fights beginning in 2012.  I’m glad they did.  I think bull fighting is a cruel sport.
The Palacio Consistorial (the old town hall) is near the waterfront, and has recently been restored.  Construction began on this building in 1900.  Notice the wide marble pedestrian avenue that leads past the building.  It is very inviting for visitors and residents alike, to stroll into the city.

Today has been spent entirely on ship coursing through very rough seas.  I’m sure glad I brought some Dramamine along!  :)  Each floor seems like a giant pinball machine with people careening from side to side while trying to walk down the passageways.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

I’m running out of time!

I spent the morning with the same group of five people working on the Outdoor Education Programs, but to be honest my mind wasn’t really on it.  In four days, I have to be ready to fly out of Houston and begin my first cruise adventure of my life.  My delays in getting here have condensed the amount of time I have to get ready.  Tomorrow, I have to drive a refuge vehicle to Beaumont, TX, and help a staff member man a booth at a Beef Producers Expo!  The staff member is trying to get a grant to help eradicate feral hogs on our sister refuge, McFadden NWR.  I will be working the booth to help local land owners support that quest.  So, chalk off tomorrow for getting ready for the cruise.  :(  Since I’ll be using a refuge vehicle, I can’t stop and do things like get a hair cut, shop for luggage, or buy some Dramamine. 

This morning, Stephanie, the volunteer coordinator, suggested I spend Sunday training in on running the VIS, and attend another work meeting on Tuesday to finish up the education programs.  I told her NO!  After tomorrow, I have to concentrate on getting ready for my adventure!  Besides getting a hair cut, luggage, and Dramamine, I have to get Emma to a vet for a kennel cough vaccination, get her to the kennel she’ll be staying at, figure out what to take along, pack, and prep the rig for my being gone for almost three weeks.  Yikes!  There’s also the issue of getting my recalcitrant printer to work so I can do the boarding pass business with the airline to get to Barcelona 24 hours before I depart. 
Late this afternoon, Emma and I took a ride around Shoveler Pond to try to get some pictures.  To my great disappointment, there was nothing to really see on the drive.  :(   I did try to take a pic of one bird, but the camera wouldn’t work.  Turns out, I had left the battery in the charger in the rig.  I guess I would have been a lot more upset, had there been fantastic photo opportunities.  :)
We spent the evening sitting outside and watching the numerous flocks of snow geese continuing to arrive on the refuge.  That is until a little after 6:00, when the mosquitoes began to get active.  :)

It seems my hit counter has also decided not to work.  What’s up with that?  This gadget counts how many people view the blog each day, and suddenly all that shows up is a big red X where the counter is positioned.  :(  I tried switching from my Sprint air card (which was giving me some problems) to the not especially strong wifi signal available at the RV sites.  Same thing happened!  Ack!!  Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Yellow fever?

Even though the sun was shining when I got up today, I decided to spend the day at the rig.  That was a good decision, as it turned out, because my intestinal fortitude wasn’t up to snuff.  :(  (I know, TMI!)  So, I spent most of my time today on the computer. 

One of the things I did was download the Guest Ticket Booklet for my upcoming repositioning cruise from Barcelona, Spain, to Galveston, Texas.  That little booklet was 26 pages long!  I haven’t read all of it yet, but as it was printing, I noticed something about immunizations.  They suggested possibly getting a yellow fever shot.  I know I’ve never had one of those.  I remember having a small pox vaccination before I went to college that was very unpleasant, but yellow fever?  I’ve never been on a cruise before or gone to Europe.  Does anyone know if this is a real danger?  I asked the person setting everything up for the cruise, but her only comment was to check with my physician.  My doctor is in Minnesota, I’m stuck in Boise, and will be heading for Texas soon, I hope.  What a dilemma. 
Get a load of the problems with this rig that has been here for about a week.  It left today, but with the front looking the same.  Kind of makes me glad I’m just waiting for levelers!  I don’t know what it is they fixed, but it sure wasn’t cosmetic surgery.  :)

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time lately mulling over my future plans.  Everything’s taken care of for this winter, but what about next summer?  I’ve been volunteering pretty solidly since I hit the road in 2006, but this summer outside of Yellowstone made me appreciate the fact that I am retired!  I’ve also felt a tug inside to become better acquainted with my five grandchildren.  They’re all under the age of five, but growing up, I remember how important my grandmothers were to me.  They were both gone by the time I was 12, but I still cherish their memory.  So, I’ve just about decided to purchase a site at the Woodhaven Lakes RV Resort in Sublette, Il.  That would put me fairly close to all of them during the summers, and within two hours of my sister and brothers.  I’ve been offered a pretty sweet deal on a site thanks to my daughter Robyn’s in-laws.  So I spent this afternoon surfing the web about what there is to see and do in Northwest Illinois.  I’m thinking this could be a good plan for me, and if it doesn’t work out, I can always sell the site and move on.  :)
I’m not sure this plant or bug will be around tomorrow, as the forecast is for a frost tonight.  I just hope I get out of here before that white stuff starts falling down out of the skies!  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy