San Juan
This was an unexpected pleasure! We had a relatively short day in San
Juan, so we all opted out of any excursions in favour of just checking
out the city. We were not disappointed- as a matter of fact, we were
pleasantly delighted. Old San Juan is a gorgeous city, like a piece of
Europe. The architecture is stunning- reminiscent of Spanish/Moorish
design with stucco and wrought iron. The building colours were
dazzling. Courtyards, parks, tiny winding streets, and fabulous little
stores and boutiques were everywhere. We eventually ended up at the old
fortress, which is a World Heritage Site, and spent some time poking
around. The heat was incredible (one tour guide said it was 100F) and
the humidity was oppressive, so when the other nutbars said they wanted
to climb to the top of walls, I just waved them on, and settled on a
bench in the shade. I know my limit, and that was it! I got to listen
to various tours as they passed by, and learned quite a lot about the
Fortress and Puerto Rico. It is part of the USA, but is neither a state
nor a territory. The citizens have all the rights and privileges of
any US citizen, but they can’t vote for the President, and have no
representative in gov’t. The upside is that apparently that means they
don’t pay taxes… sounds fair!
For lunch, we went to Senor Frog’s. Can someone explain why they made us (and all patrons) wear balloon hats? Strange place. Fun, but strange. Lovely tall drink (a yard of Diet Coke, to be precise… and I get to keep the glass) and a tuna sandwich, and I was ready to head back to the ship. My poor feet are aching and blistered (literally). I desperately need some good shoes… It
was really a lovely city. I could see myself heading back here again for a vacation - and would love to check out the rain forest next time!
We left port early- about 3:30pm- so it was a short day. Got some gorgeous pics of the beaches and fortress as we sailed out, and then prudently took my heat-stroked and exhausted self to my cabin for a nap.
Supper was lovely, again. I had the shrimp cocktail (big surprise!), the cream of wild mushroom soup (delish!!!) and the penne with a vodka blush sauce. Mmmmmm!! Warm apple pie a la mode with coffee rounded off another wonderful meal. Due to a big deck party, there was no late show at the Amber Palace so we toddled off to the Lido Deck and watched the party for a while. Hit the shops for a bit- Davie bought another Guess watch- and then Rayna and I sat in one of the lounges, sipping sodas and people watching until we were tired enough to head to bed.
Tomorrow is our last stop- Grand Turk. I can’t believe we are almost finished this cruise. I like it more than I expected, and thanks to Miss Astrophe doing well and good friends who are watching her, I have been able to relax and enjoy. (Tyler’s email said her PCV was up to 33%, so we are all happy. Except maybe Astrophe…)
Heading back north to the Turks and Caicos…. G’night!
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