Barceloneta

Though I wrote about the bad state of Barcelona's beaches a few weeks ago, I did not mean to say that I do not like the old quarter of Barceloneta and its adjoining beach. Barceloneta is quite small and full of narrow streets with rows of low four or five story buildings that are being renovated or have been renovated already. There live a lot of older people and immigrants; on a recent stroll I saw a "halal" butcher and a Chinese-run fruit and veggie store.
It is also very interesting to go to the beach, though just not for the quality of the sand or its installations. The interesting thing about the beach is watching people. Tourists from all over the world, of course. Illegal immigrants, mainly from Africa, sleeping with their few belongings around them on the beach. The typical locals are old-timers that sit around with few clothes on all year round playing domino. Others, equally exposed to the elements, walk up and down the beach. There are people in suits, women with stiletto heels, but also punks. Then there is a group of middle-aged men who look like unemployed truck-drivers who exercise their muscles on some basic fitness equipment; alas, the most protruding part of their bodies will always be the belly. Sometimes, young, athletic female joggers interrupt their running for a few moments and join the unemployed truck-drivers for a little muscle flexing; immediately they get all the attention, and the men get a lot more serious about their exercises...