Cartagena Spain, Fuerte de Navidad, route via road with interesting detours

Cartagena Spain, tourist attractions and historical sites, Fuerte de Navidad , a historical fort with great views

If youre the adventurous type, a trip to the Fuerte de Navidad can be a lot more than just a visit to the fort itself.

A glance at the map reveals that the fort sits on the tip of a triangle of land, with no road names, although there are several roads clearly marked.

This is because the whole area was strictly controlled by the military, and indeed, driving down towards the Fuerte, several signs are passed giving the clear impression that we are trespassing on Military land, a thought which gives the whole journey a little bit of spice before we even get anywhere near the fort.

Leaving the main road to drive down the side of the rambla, we pass a huge stone wall with an impressive looking building behind it.

This is the Asilo de Ancianos, run by the Hermanitas de los Pobres, an old peoples refuge operated by nuns and was designed by the great modernist architect, Victor Beltri and only dates back to 1930, although you could be forgiven for thinking it was much older

Its a beautiful, historic building, but as with many of these old buildings is in desperate need of repair, so all the residents have been moved to other places and efforts are underway to raise money for the renovation work which is so badly needed.

A huge amount of damage was done to the building during the heavy rains of the year 2000, which have left several niggling problems that continue to need attention, and which have caused other parts of the building to deteriorate, the estimates for the restoration work being in the region of 12 million euros.

It would be a terrible shame to see it fall into disrepair, so lets just hope the renovation efforts succeed.. During November guided tours were being run to raise some money and two of our readers spotted the door open and wandered in, hoping they might have arrived on the right day. Much to their disbelief, a nun took them in and gave them a private guided tour , and they emailed in a state of high excitement, having had a wonderful adventure.

Carrying along down the road a bridge is reached which takes you off down to the left. If you follow the road along and up slightly almost as though youre into the Navantia shipyard, you will arrive eventually at the fort, but this is where those with exploratory tendencies can have a bit of fun.

Instead of going across the bridge, carry on straight , the road turns to a track and seems to be going nowhere, then suddenly theres civilisation and youve arrived at a tiny fishing village which transports you back into time.

Youre in a little sheltered bay, with an inlet dividing the village right through the middle, fishing boats and pleasure boats moored by the houses, nets flapping in the wind and a dilapidated air of authenticity in the air.

Follow the track right through the village and it climbs up the headland, terminating in a small car park, not for the fainthearted, and a walk along the track will bring you to an isolated military lookout point, with a small cove off down at the bottom. Look down at the rock formation at the bottom, its a huge, romantic arch of stone with a secluded pool at its foot, a secret place for only those elite few that know its there.

If you want to really have a look at the village, drive back to the bridge, go across, but instead of following the road up the hill by the Navantia dockyard, take the right hand fork and drive down, along the river bed, and youll arrive in a car parking area.

Walk down from there to arrive in the fishing village. There are no bars or cafes, just a real place where families have fished for centuries, and still do today.

Only a few of the houses are inhabited, the rest being owned by local families, but one man we spoke to said that he lived in a flat in the middle of Cartagena, but came here, to the little house where he had been born, every day of his life.

He loved the air here he said, the smell of the sea and his friends, with whom he was playing dominoes in the street.

Its not even remotely glamorous, in fact we looked at the carpark and wondered if it was safe to leave the car there, but authentically honest. Boats are carried to the water, rooves are galvanised tin, paints dropping off the walls and theres nothing to really see, other than the beautiful little pictures that dot the walls, made from tile offcuts, cheeky little splashes of colour with tile yachts racing across a tile sea, cheerful, fun, naïve and worth driving any distance to enjoy.

Its just one of those places that its nice to have as your own little secret, and visiting this little cove was like finding the land that time forgot and it made our visit to the fort just so much more fun.

Although it was enjoyable to go back and do the visit to the Fuerte de Navidad by tourist boat, it was nice to take our time and enjoy a walk down to the lighthouse and sit on the rocks watching the container ships head out to sea, so pop a picnic in the boot, bring a headscarf as it can be a bit windy down by the lighthouse and dare to see a little bit of Cartagena that youll never find in ANY of the guidebooks!

For full details about the Fuerte de Navidad, Cartagena Spain

 To see a full report on the Fuerte de Navidad, Click Fuerte de Navidad

To get straight to the Fuerte de Navidad  without any adventures, CLICK HERE. The Fuerte is at the far tip of the spit of land running off the rambla of Benijar.

Its not as complicated as it looks on the map. The road runs right down the side of the Rambla. Just follow it down and ignore the signs telling you youre in a military zone. Follow it straight down, and you will cross a bridge, and approach the Navantia shipyard. It feels as though youre actually driving into the shipyard, but the road bears around to the left and carries on around the back of the shipyard along the edge of the port. About 2km past Navantia you will arrive at the Fort.

Take your time driving along the road and look down into the Navantia shipyard- you can see the submarines under construction and the yachts of the super-rich in for repair.

There are lots more Military-related places to visit in Cartagena, Click Following the Cartagena Military Trail for more suggestions.