February 23, 2024
After I left the magical garden behind the crêperie, I took
another walk, as it hadn’t started raining again. Cutting down a side street, I found a nice
coffee shop and got a latte to go. The
moon was full, or nearly so, and peeking through the clouds now and then. Ahead of me, three lollipop palm trees stood
sentinel on the hill. A golden glow
beneath one of them highlighted the subtle line of the Castillo.
I was drawn towards the moon, so I crossed the street and climbed up the dark hill. As expected, the entry booth was shuttered and the draw bridge up, so I couldn’t get inside the Castillo, but there were areas accessible. A few other people quietly wandered about in the shadows.
It was an amazing experience. Just enough light to see, but enough shadows to add a bit of mystery. Of what, or even who, might be around the next corner.
I found some areas of the fort that I hadn’t seen during my daytime visit. This “hot shot” oven was one. It was used to heat cannonballs until they were red hot. The idea being that they would start a wooden ship on fire.
The inner draw bridge was down, but there was no way to get to it. Obviously, I wasn’t looking for any illegal way in. There weren’t signs forbidding people to walk where I was. There would really be no way to keep people out beyond fencing the entire area, which would really ruin it historically.
From on top the seawall, the lights on the Bridge of Lions
danced across the water.
All in all, it was a wonderful way to end the evening, and my last day in this ancient city. The next morning I’d haul my luggage down the narrow stairs and into my little Kia. I’d point the car south and be on my way.
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