Fight for Independence

As we have walked around town we had got the feeling that there was some "political unrest" as the Catalonian flag was more prominent than the Spanish flag, there were notices stuck on walls and while they were obviously in Spanish it was relatively easy to work out they were anti-government and there were banners hanging out of windows with "Si" imprinted. A google gave the answer.

In September the province of Catalonia is having a referendum to determine whether the citizenry wish to form an independent state - there have been numerous referenda in the past and they like this one have been ruled unconstitutional by the Spanish Constitutional Court so I suspect that the rousing Yes vote in this referendum will mean nothing long term.

Completing our list of things to see was the aim this morning and the first on the agenda was to see the Muralles or Roman Walls - these well preserved walls on the northern side of the city are 800m long and were nice to walk around not the least because they gave some shade from the ever heating sun.

Following the Muralles next on the list was the Cathedral - it in comparison to others we have seen was rather stark/bland in the main altar area but there were some colourful side chapels as well as some valuable pieces in the Treasury

We also gatecrashed another wedding in the Cathedral - apart from the couple, bestman & bridesmaid, photographer and two others there were no other guests but it seemed to be a full blown ceremony 

With all the poverty in the world it seems more appropriate, to me at least, that some of the wealth that exists in these Cathedrals/Basilicas/ Churches be turned into hard cold cash and used for humanitarian purposes.

After the Cathedral we ticked off a couple of other sites before going for a walk along the beach - we started at the rocks in the foreground, took off our sandals and paddled our way to the far end. It was very refreshing with the warm water splashing around our legs and a nice breeze but we were pissed that we didn't have our togs with us as a dip would have been a good reward for our efforts of the morning.

Along the way there was a small group showing some interest in something in the water so we had to have a look and we think it was a small turtle being washed in with the waves.

The following is a selfie with the Med behind taken on the rocky point before we started our walk along the beach.

Back at the hotel it wasn't long before we were in the pool - we have used the pool everyday and on every occasion we have been the only ones in it. We have been thankful for that as it is a very small pool certified for 5 people max and I think that would be a squeeze.

The town will wake up again in around 2 hours after the siesta.