Word: townes
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...heat rises languidly off the cobblestone streets. Like the locals, you can retreat into the cool, moist refuges of the ancient stone homes, most with walls so thick that air-conditioning becomes redundant. One of my favorite places to chill: Getsemani, the tiny European-style section of the Old Town - once the poor neighborhood just across the moat but now the cool Greenwich Village-style area of the city. Getting around the Old Town is a cinch; cabs cost about 5,000 pesos ($2.50) anywhere within the walls...
...your main objective is to laze on the beach, you'll want to leave town to do it. The beaches near Cartagena tend to be grimy and raucous. Escape by boat instead, from the town's historic port (you can't miss the old, touristy galleon whose three masts are visible from much of the Old Town) to the Islas del Rosario, an archipelago about 30 miles (1 hour) off the coast. The islands offer proper beaches - though none quite lives up to the postcard-perfect white stretches for which the Caribbean is famous - with snorkeling, scuba-diving...
...When the sun sets, the true life of Cartagena emerges. This town is a foodie mecca, boasting several excellent restaurants, the most famous of which is La Vitrola (Calle Baloco #2-01; +575-660-07-11), a classic bistro serving Cuban food, where waiters and diners usually end up dancing on the tables before the night is over. Another hot spot, Palma (Calle del Curato #38-137; +575-660-27-96), has a Colombian-Italian fusion menu and sits across from the luxury Charleston Hotel, an old Santa Teresa convent that has been fully restored. But the restaurant...
...There's no shortage of rooms to rent in the Old Town. Budget hotels and hostels are mostly clustered in Getsemani. Midrange and upscale accommodations can be found everywhere, many in El Centro or San Diego; the latter was once a middle-class neighborhood but is now peppered with million-dollar homes like the one 17 of us rented: a 200-year-old, eight-bedroom, blue row house (Casa Santissimo, San Diego), which goes for $2,500 per week...
...Police say they have arrested suspects in the Model Town area of Lahore, but none of those detained are believed to be gunmen. The Interior Ministry has announced that an investigation is underway...