30.
Cartagena, Columbia:
I find a clean, blue and white hotel on the beach with a room and meals for only $2 per day! I am tempted to stay here for a long time!
Cartagena (“Carthage” in English) was a boomtown in the 17th and 18th centuries. There is a big stone fortress overlooking the harbor. Pirates used to make raids on the town periodically but after Drake wrecked the place, the Spanish built this fort and that ended the raids.
The heat is extreme—over 90 degrees Fahrenheit every day. I sit and steam all day. Every evening when it cools off I visit downtown Cartagena by local bus since my hotel is a few miles out of town.
The Spanish rulers must have built this city using slave labor from Africa because the town residents now seem to be progeny of those slaves. The Spanish have disappeared or maybe mixed with the Africans.
The oldest part of the town is built within protective walls and here the crowds are the thickest. Everybody seems to be hustling for a living selling cigarettes or plastic trinkets. The ladies are looking good in tight shirts and slacks; the men look harassed.
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