Friday, January 29, 2010

A Man on a Horse

It is a city of narrow cool streets and high stone walls. It is a place built upon a long history, both full of darkness and touched by light. Today Cartagena is of course many things, and for a two short weeks it has become my vacation home.

Everywhere within the old walls there are sites to inspire and amaze. It is a world heritage site for good reason. Every twist and turn of the narrow street leads you to some new splendor. The modern city has of course spilled far out, many miles beyond the confines of the ancient walls.

If you cannot be bothered to read its history, you must at least learn something from the faces of those who live here now. The Spanish of course left their mark but hundreds of years of slave trading shows that the face of Africa is everywhere here as well.