The best time of the day in Cartagena is early in the morning. The streets are empty, tourists and guides nowhere to be seen. Locals are headed to work whether to an office or selling baskets on the street. It is quiet. This is the beginning of another day that will last long into the night for the people who live and work here.
We walk the neighborhood then sit in Plaza de Bolivar facing our apartment building. Even this early benches in the shade of the park’s trees are at a premium. People are sitting, talking quietly enjoying the cool of the early morning.
There are four fountains in the park, one at each corner. The sound of the water is delicious.
A worker is scooping water from a fountain with a bucket tied to a rope. He walks from the fountain onto the dirt throwing bucket after bucket of water. It may be more primitive than an irrigation system but, I imagine, just as satisfying from the vegetation’s point-of-view.
Gradually the park and the benches begin to fill. We know it is time to leave as the first guide and gaggle of tourists enter. The guide stops in front of the statue of Simon Bolivar, talks for five minutes and the group moves on…another, faster way to see the town. Meanwhile Bolivar calmly observes.
MedFlies 