Alas, on the short alley outside the hotel that connects to the center of town, the old tiles were broken, and the big building next door was empty and dirty. Across the alley young woman clerks, fully dressed and made-up, swept the sidewalk in front of their clothing and accessory stores and then stood and smoked while waiting for customers who seldom came. People strolled on the long pedestrian-only streets that stretched from the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin to the beach.