Blogs from Viejo San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Central America Caribbean

Yesterday morning started rather leisurely - it is vacation after all! I brewed coffee in the room, we made a rough plan for the day, and eventually moseyed on downstairs to ask a few questions at reception. 1) What are our options besides walking an hour to Old San Juan? 2) How do we get to the Bacardí rum factory and 3) Can we make a reservation at Pikayo, the hotel's famed restaurant? As it turned out, buses ran just up the street to Old San Juan for only $.75! The catch? There's no schedule! Thankfully one came within 20 minutes, and we much preferred the modern bus to sweating to death walking or a $15 cab ride. Once in town it was too late for breakfast and almost early enough to justify lunch, so since ... read more

And the new adventure has finally begun. I started off my travels Monday evening, leaving Bakersfield at 7 pm to catch a red eye flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. I knew it was going to be a long night, and I wasn’t going to get much sleep. As we had just started the first flight, the Chinese guy sitting next to me decided he was going to fall asleep on my shoulder, and as most people know, I have a large personal bubble. He was definitely invading my space and made me uncomfortable for the whole flight. I nudged him away a few times, but he was out and wouldn’t budge. So, I just shifted the seat so he would lean on that, and not me. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, but ... read more

During the Spanish colonial times most of the urban population resided in what is now known as Old San Juan. This sector is located on the western half of a small island called the Isleta de San Juan, which is connected to the mainland by two bridges and a causeway. The small island, which comprises an area of 47 mi² (122 km²), also hosts the working class neighborhood of Puerta de Tierra and most of Puerto Rico's central government buildings, including the Commonwealth's Capitol. The main central part of the city is characterized by narrow cobblestone streets and picturesque colonial buildings, some of which date back to the 16th and 17th century. Sections of the old city are surrounded by massive walls and several defensive structures and notable forts. These include the 16th century Fort San ... read more

Spring break is crazy!!! I had a really challenging cruise a couple weeks ago. My teens were partiers which led to lots of problems for me. I’m also struggling with so many guests expressing disappointment in my program, when the main problem they have is the age restrictions - something that is not set by me but I am left to enforce. I’m trying to not let it drag me down, but it can be really difficult at times. Last week I had what surely must be record-breaking (or close to record-breaking) numbers. There were 410 teens onboard who fell into my age category and I had 230 of them regularly in my club. It was hectic, so many bodies filling the place. But the camp carnival girls really helped me out by doing ID-checking at ... read more