San Juan

WE HAVE been to San Juan 4 times now. The only thing we have done there is visit the National Park/Fort in Old San Juan, walk around the area a little bit, and drink the local beer and rum. One of these trips, we will organize a more meaningful tour. Maybe learn some culture. Maybe tour one of the distilleries. Who knows?

Port of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

PART OF the problem has been timing. In 3 of the 4 instances, we had a port stop in the Old San Juan port. In all three cases, they were abbreviated stops. Most of our stops involve coming into port in the morning and staying until late afternoon. Or sometimes evening. San Juan, I suppose because it is a convenient stopping point on the relatively long trip from Florida to the Caribbean, for some reason always seems to get short-changed. Even in the 4th case, when our cruise originated in San Juan, by the time we arrived at the airport and got transportation to the cruise port, we were left with a short 1/2 day in San Juan. So that has been a bit of a continuing frustration. The sail into The Bay of San Juan (Bahia de San Juan) was the most picturesque sail-in I can remember. It was late afternoon, and the light was flattering. The ships come in from the northeast around a peninsula that is a high bluff, protecting the harbor. Because of the high bluff, it was also an ideal place for a fort - also to protect the harbor. The views from the ship made some nice imagery. The ship in the photo is a Norwegian Cruise Line ship following us in.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

THE 2013 cruise was our first time in San Juan. We had no real plan. But since we had a couple days on board, we had gotten to know our new friends, Lou and Penny, and they didn't really have a plan either. So we agreed we would go ashore together and "play it by ear." We arrived in the afternoon, on a federal holiday. One thing that meant was the National Park Service, which operates the 3 forts in Old San Juan, was not open.

The Old San Juan Forts - U.S. National Park Service - Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

FORTUNATELY, HOWEVER, the gates were open and there were signs inviting visitors and saying that no ticket purchases were necessary. There are actually 2 cruise landings in San Juan - the Old San Juan Harbor port and the secondary cruise terminal down harbor and across the waterway, near the airport. We didn't know it was there at the time. It appears that only ships originating and terminating in San Juan use the 2nd terminal. We would learn that (kind of the hard way) on our next trip through. But for now, docked within walking distance, we hoofed it up to the forts that are accessible from the Old town, Castillos San Cristobal, and El Morro. The views are pretty spectacular from the fort. As for the fort itself, if is interesting architecture, but mostly stone walls and ramps up to them remain. Kind of illustrates why they were built there, as you could spot any ships approaching San Juan from the north.

Old San Juan from Castillo San Cristobal - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

DID I say the views were spectacular? Not only did the top walls of the San Cristobal Fort provide a great viewpoint down onto the city and off to the east, but the warm, late afternoon sun, and some wonderful cloud formations provided some drama in the skies. This afternoon also set up what might be my favorite ever photo of the Celebrity Reflection at one of its moorings.

Celebrity Reflection - Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

AFTER SEEING the forts, we wandered back down the hill through town. One of my favorite photos was taken that afternoon, of a local artisan teaching a young boy how to craft pottery on a wheel. The warm afternoon light was a plus to this serendipitous opportunity.

Artisan demonstrating his pottery wheel - Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

WE EVENTUALLY "wandered" far enough to find our way into the ultra-touristy Caribbean chain restaurant: Sen'or Frogs. Touristy as it is, the location in old San Juan may be one of the better ones and was certainly a fun place to finish up our San Juan visit. There is another Sen'or Frogs over by the other cruise port flanking the airport runways. From the top deck of a cruise ship, it looks like a cross between an airplane hanger and a quonset hut. Not much character. But the one in Old San Juan is built into the old storefront and has some character. Plus, it is a 2 minute walk to and from the ship.

WE HAD already learned how much fun Lou and Penny could be. Our time in Sen'or Frogs only underscored that. We laughed. Then we laughed some more. It was a fun, albeit brief, stop.