POTD: Adios, Cartagena

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the stern of the Norwegian Star as it sails from Cartagena, Columbia, a beautiful city with beautiful people. Hasta la vista.

POTD: Adapting to Climate Change

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cartagena, Columbia. Does it look like this city is prepared for the already present effects of climate change, to say nothing of the future? And this is a city that isn't in denial. But, despite the gleaming high-rise condos, on the whole it is a poor city.

Plan 4C estimates the cost of adapting Cartagena to coming climate change challenges to be around $500 million.

It calls for the 100 hectares of the walled old city of Cartagena – declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984 – to be kept at least 200 meters from the sea. As sea level rises, this will require a system of dams, dikes and breakwaters.

Without those, up to 86 percent of historic Cartagena – including much of the old city – will be invaded by the Atlantic, the climate plan warns. One third of the industrial sector could also be impacted, and all the city’s beaches could vanish, it says.

Source: Reuters.

POTD: Modern Cartagena

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cartagena, Columbia. It's two cities in one. The walled old city is a well-deserved UNESCO world heritage site and its sprawling beachfronts are filled with high-rise hotels and condos.

Review: Mad City: The True Story of the Campus Murders That America Forgot

Amazon

From Mad City, by Michael Arntfield:

Unless he’d blown town for another spot on the map, there’s nowhere else he could be. He’d be there watching, waiting, stalking. She’d stop him this time. She’d have to. It was, after all, her purpose in life, a world shaped by torment and obsession. It was an all-consuming calling—alpha to omega."

I chose to read the non-fiction "Mad City" for one reason—my personal connection to the time and place it is set. It details a series of real-life horrific murders of young women on or near the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison beginning in 1968, just before my first year there.

POTD: Panama Hats in Columbia

From 2018 01 22 Cartagena

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Cartagena, Columbia, where Panama hats are sold on the street. It seems a shame that 1) Columbia missed out on having its name attached to the hat style, and 2) Columbia Sportswear was named after the Pacific Northwest river, not the South American country. Anyway, for the purposes of this POTD at least, here are real Columbia hats.

Bonus photos after the jump.