Our Summer Vacation - Days 8, 9, and 10 (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - Blogged by JME

I finally have time to sit down and finish blogging about our trip.  I guess I just wanted it to go on forever, and maybe the delay in blogging about it helps me drag it out as long as I can.

Our time on the Carnival Victory ended on Sunday, September 4th.  We disembarked and said goodbye to the ship that we had spent the last week aboard.  However, we were looking forward to spending the next few days in Old San Juan. 

N8 had visited Old San Juan once before when he was aboard the USS Wasp.  They were supposed to spend a few days at that port call, but only spent one day there.  They had to leave early to rush to the aid of Jamaica to assist in hurricane relief.  Although it hit land, the damage wasn't bad enough to require humanitarian relief so the ship didn't stop there.  The USS Wasp never returned to San Juan during N8's time aboard.  Instead, the captain directed the USS Wasp to continue on to their next port call in Columbia.  N8 has always wanted to go back to Old San Juan, which is one of the reasons we chose the particular cruise that we did, and also why we decided to stay a couple days longer in Old San Juan after the cruise was finished.  It was a great decision!

N8 aboard the USS Wasp during their visit to Puerto Rico 08/2007

N8 and I were practically the last ones off the ship.  We wanted to avoid the rush and crowds and so spent our morning in the ship's theater watching the nature channel until things calmed down.  When we finally got off the ship, going through customs was a cinch.  We grabbed our bags and walked down the street to our hotel overlooking the bay.  We checked in and then decided to explore.  We walked along a pathway that is on the outside perimeter of Old San Juan.  It was beautiful!

The city walls around San Juan were built in 1630 to protect the town against both European invaders and Caribbean pirates. The city walls that remain today were once part of one of the most impregnable fortresses in the New World and even today are an engineering marvel. Their thickness averages 20 feet (6m) at the base and 12 feet (3.7m) at the top, with an average height of 40 feet (12m).

City Wall in Old San Juan

Court Yard in Old San Juan

We took it easy the first day there and just explored the city streets. I loved seeing the different styles of architecture there. The streets were narrow cobblestone and buildings were all different colors. The sights and the smells were so different from anywhere I'd ever been before.

Walking Along the City Streets

Man with an Accordian

After walking a while, we decided to go back to our hotel and take a nap. It was kind of cold and uncomfortable because of how humid it is in Puerto Rico. I don't think my clothes or the sheets ever felt dry. We kept the air conditioning on to keep cool, but then I was too cold because of the wet air. That was the only thing there I don't think I'd be able to get used to very quickly.

The Carnival Victory About to Disembark

Goodbye! The Carnival Victory Leaving the Bay

That evening, we climbed to the roof of our hotel and said a final fairwell as we watched our cruise ship sail away.

On Monday, we did some more exploring, but this time took in a little more history of Old San Juan. We went to the Plaza del Quinto Centenario (Quincentennial Plaza), which overlooks the Atlantic from atop the highest point in the city. A striking and symbolic feature of the plaza, which was constructed as part of the 1992-93 celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the New World, is a sculpture that rises 40 feet (12m) from the plaza's top level.

Quincentennial Plaza

The monumental sculpture in black granite and ceramics symbolizes the earthen and clay roots of American history and is the work of Jaime Suarez, one of Puerto Rico's foremost artists.

Placed around the plaza are fountains, other columns, and sculpted steps that represent various historic periods in Puerto Rico's 500-year heritage.

Centrally located, Quincentennial Plaza is one of modern Puerto Rico's respectful gestures to its colorful and lively history. It is a perfect introduction for visitors seeking to discover the many rich links with the past in Old San Juan.

Santa Maria Magdalena De Pazzis Cemetery

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. The cemetery is located outside the walls of Fort San Felipe del Morro fortress, one of the island's most famous landmarks. The average height of the wall is 40 feet and the width ranges from 15 to 20 feet.[1] It was named in honor of Saint Maria Magdalena de Pazzi. The colonial Spanish government at the time construction of the cemetery commenced, viewed death with fear because it was a mystery. Therefore, they decided to build the cemetery to overlook the Atlantic Ocean to symbolize the spirit's journey to cross over to the afterlife. N8 stood on the 40 foot wall as he took this picture and I had to look away, because I'm scared of heights.

San Felipe Del Morro Castle- Picture taken from the San Cristobal Castle

The Castillo de San Cristóbal is a Spanish fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was built by Spain to protect against land based attacks on the city of San Juan. It is part of San Juan National Historic Site. Castillo de San Cristóbal is the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World. When it was finished in 1783, it covered about 27 acres of land and basically wrapped around the city of San Juan. Entry to the city was sealed by San Cristóbal's double gates. After close to one hundred years of relative peace in the area, part of the fortification (about a third) was demolished in 1897 to help ease the flow of traffic in and out of the walled city.

Morning in Old San Juan

N8 always amazes me with some of the pictures he takes.  This picture above and the next three are some of my favorites that N8 took on this trip.

San Felipe Del Morro Castle

San Felipe Del Morro Castle

San Felipe Del Morro Castle

It's a Good Day to Fly a Kite

We walked from San Critobal Castle to San Felipe Del Morro Castle. It was a little bit of a walk, but it was so not boring in the least. When we arrived at San Felipe Del Morro Castle, we saw so many people flying kites. Some of them were so high. It was so much fun to see. An airplane flew by and we were afraid it might hit some of them. That is how high they seemed.

Inside the San Felipe Del Morro Castle

Cannons

Cannon Balls and Lighthouse at San Felipe Del Morro Castle

N8 and JME at San Felipe Del Morro Castle

Old Fort on the Other Side of the Bay

Iguanas here too?

We only saw one Iguana in Puerto Rico. Funny how a week ago, we were so excited to see just one iguana and now it's not such a huge deal.

Eeeewwww!  Sweaty Back!!!

This is what N8's back looked like after walking around the Castles all day. You can see where his backpack sat.

Stained Glass Window at the San Juan Cathedral

After leaving the castle, we headed to the San Juan Cathedral and then explored the city streets as we slowly made our way back to our hotel.

Another Beautiful Sunset!

Our last adventure was a glowing bay kayaking adventure.  We had a bus pick us up and take us about an hour and a half from our hotel.  It was getting dark and the sunset was beautiful on the water.   

Getting Ready to Go.  Safety First!

We got in our life jackets and sprayed a bunch of bug spray on us. The water was pretty warm and mosquitos were everywhere.

Kayaking at Las Croabas Park

We got in our kayaks and headed for the bay. N8 and I caught on pretty quick. At first we had to talk to eachother to communicate if we needed to slow down, turn more, stop, etc, but pretty soon we were following each other's movements and almost reading each other's minds. We did so good. I think we were the best kayakers out there.

JME Rows in the Front

Do you hear banjos?

We rowed over to a stream that would lead us to the bay. There were mangrove trees coming up out of the water that we had to paddle between. It looked like a scene right out of "Pirates - At World's End" when they go to see Tia Dalma, or like the beginning of the "Pirates" ride at DisneyLand. It was kind of creepy. There were even fireflies that added to that feeling.

Paddling around the Bioluminescent Lake

When we got to the Bioluminescent Bay, N8 noticed that his oar was glowing when he put it in the water. He thought it was maybe a reflection of lights coming from somewhere, but there were no lights around. We realized it was the water that was lighting up whenever something disturbed it. It even lit up at the front of our kayak. Our tour guides told us that it was millions of tiny microorganisms in the water that lit up that made the light. If you've ever seen 'Finding Nemo' you will remember the fish at the deepest, darkest part of the ocean that lights up a little bulb to attract food. That is one use for the lights. Another use is for protection, which was the lights we were seeing.

Glowing Water

We tried taking pictures of the lights that we saw, but it didn't work. This picture above is the best one we could find to give you an idea of what it was like. This was such a fun trip. I wish we could do something like this every year. It was so nice to have some time for N8 and I to make some precious memories and we wouldn't trade those for anything.