Cartagena is a nice city but also very dirty, specially in the dry season that runs from December to may. The dusty wind from the city blows straight over the anchorage and everything on the boat gets covered with black dust.
Most people develop a cough in the first few weeks. People that come from the San Blas—a pure nature environment—suffer the most the first weeks. Bronchitis, sore red eyes and other strange diseases that you get where there is a lot of pollution and a good quantity of people together.
I did an eye-test here and the optometrist noticed of course my red eyes.
“You work outside in the sun”, she asked.
“Yes, I do a little bit of work on the boat”, I responded.
“That’s ‘la Brisa’, the wind that is blowing for the last few days. A lot of people have it. It is the dust and the sunlight combined. I have a special ointment for that, only 20.000 pesos (10 dollars).”
“Thank you for your concern”, I said, but Vivian bought that ointment already. She is struggling with those eye-irritation since we arrived here, two months ago”.
A lot of sailors do their medical check-up here. Specially those that go to the Pacific. Dentists are relatively cheap and good. For a good pair of glasses including frame—reading and normal—I will pay $150 dollars. No idea if this is a good price, I just needed them.
You can do the laser-eye adjustment very cheap is what the sailors say. I wait a bit. I will get my glasses tomorrow.
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