December 23, 2013. A Day in Old San Juan.

Now that there are seven of us, we have two cars. With one GPS, one car has to be the lead car and the other follows. This made for some interesting lane changes with signage not the best and aggressive Puerto Rican drivers out in full force. We did make it to the municipal parking lot with not too much effort and fortunately the tourist information centre was right across the street.

With maps and walking tour information in hand we set a meeting time and place and headed out. It was a hot day.

 Founded in 1521, San Juan is a well preserved example of what was a Spanish colonial town. Sections of the old city are surrounded by massive walls and several defensive structures and notable forts. These include the 16th-century Fort San Felipe del Morro and the 17th-century Fort San Cristóbal. The main central part of the city is characterized by narrow streets made of blue cobblestone and picturesque colonial buildings, some of which date back to the 16th and 17th century.

We roamed the streets, took pictures of statues, balconies, an above ground cemetery, forts, the turquoise waves crashing on the shoreline and even San Juan cats. I read a sign telling us not to feed the cats. Puerto Rico has feeding stations for cats and provides medical attention for them when needed. We did notice a number of stray dogs roaming the streets.

          

             

By the time 3 pm rolled around, the most important site for me was the good coffee shop recommended to us by a parks person at the fort. I had the best cappuccino ever. Puerto Rico grows some great coffee. We sat at the outdoor cafe and were eventually joined my two other members of our group...beer for them and another cappuccino for me.

The seven of us enjoyed an authentic Puerto Rican meal before driving back to Fajardo. Old San Juan is a must see if you visit Puerto Rico.