Cartagena

Had a too-brief visit (partly because our time is limited, partly because it's so dang hot here we didn't want to linger) to Colombia's Caribbean coastal port and walled city of Cartagena. There is some serious history here--reminders of Spanish colonialism and the era of slave trade abound. These days, though, it's pretty easy to wander in simple appreciation of the beauty of the place and charm of the old town and city walls (as long as you don't forget to bring a towel to mop up the prolific sweat you will be sporting along the way).

I particularly loved the graffiti found pretty much everywhere, which was more art than vandalism.

And the narrow streets made for pretty pictures, aside from their intended purpose of providing the maximum amount of shade--which I also very much appreciated.

Our tour of town was actually a mini-party, as SR and I stayed with a very kind, enthusiastic Airbnb host who spent an entire afternoon/evening giving us a tour, and along the way we ran into a friend of his who joined the adventure. Good times!