Visit to #Almeria and #Ceuta.

 Arriving in Almeria, the main attraction seemed to be the old fortress sited on the hilltop.  This involved wandering the streets trying to follow the signs. This proved to be something of a challenge but it took our minds off the steep climb involved!

Arriving at the entrance, it was good to find that this was free to British people. As we looked around, we were immediately impressed with the gardens and the views from the battlements were also impressive. In the distance we could see the rest of the fortress. The site is still being restored and in a few years will be a must see tourist attraction.

As we wandered around the gardens and ruins we realised that they were also home to a litter of cats. These proved to be quite photographic and a small kitten even tried to get us to adopt it!
We were sitting eating a cake and it started to eat several crumbs as they fell. Feeling sorry for it, we filled a wrapper with water and  put it down. After drinking the water, it decided to eat the wrapper! We snatched the wrapper away and the kitten lost interest in us. Then the kitten moved onto another couple who were also having a quick sit down and a snack!

Going for a drink in local café, we asked one of the staff to show us the way to an art gallery we fancied visiting.

We had with us a map that we had been given on the ship. Going back to an earlier post, even being a local, she struggled to understand it! However, we followed her instructions and came across a statue of John Lennon. Apparently it was whilst filming here that he wrote Strawberry Fields Forever,
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Unfortunately, the gallery was closed by the tine we arrived there, and feeling quite drained by the afternoon heat, we decided to make our way back to the ship for some shade. ​

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Our next stop was Ceuta, although being a very pretty town was not one that a lot of cruises stopped at. Because of this it was quite different and not very 'touristy'. There was a very good shopping area and some interesting buildings such as the one with dragons on top. It was actually a pet store! Unfortunately, they seemed to be all sold out of dragons!

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A sculpture garden was advertised but on arrival this proved to be a type of waterpark, in the grounds of a casino and one  that you had to pay to enter. Instead, we walked across the town and found a more or less deserted beach. This was a surprise considering the beautiful weather.

On arriving back towards the ship, my recent visits to the gym paid off, where I was able to stop Hercules destroying the pillars!

An interesting couple of towns that we hadn't encountered before. They were not part of the usual tourist routes, and were well worth visiting, although possibly not for a long stay.  

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