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06/01/2026
On Colombia’s Caribbean coast, in South America, Cartagena’s old town stands bright under a hard sun, refusing to dull with time.
Its walls once protected the city from pirates. Today, they protect something else — memory. Balconies overflow with flowers. Doors wear colours boldly, as if age has only made them more confident.
People here are proud of this stubborn beauty. Life moves loudly. Music leaks into the streets. Conversations don’t lower their voices for history — they live alongside it.
Cartagena doesn’t preserve its past in silence. It lets it sweat, laugh, and age openly. The city seems to say that survival isn’t about staying untouched — it’s about staying visible.
Some places age by disappearing.
This one survives by showing up fully, every single day.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile
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