San Juan, Puerto Rico

---

We flew to San Juan in order to escape some of the cold weather here in the states. Since we were taking a seven-day cruise, we decided to spend one day before the cruise and one day after in San Juan. We pricedlined hotels and wound up with the Caribe Hilton before the cruise and the Sheraton Old San Juan after the cruise. Of the two, we enjoyed the latter the most. Old San Juan is a picturesque area of San Juan and is quite the tourist district.

The first place we headed to was Castillo San Felipe del Morro. This is an old Spanish fort which was began in 1539 as a simple tower and is a part of a massive defensive system built by the Spaniards in Old San Juan. Spain's empire spent over 250 years fortifying this location. Through it, the country could control access and commerce in and out of the New World and El Morro protected this rich port from sea going enemies. One has an excellent view of the harbor from this fort.

There is a lighthouse in the fortress which was built by the U.S. Navy in 1908 after taking the island from Spain during the Spanish-American War at the close of the nineteenth century. There is an observation deck which was a World War I gun emplacement equipped with a 4.7 inch cannon. During World War II, a 90mm anti-aircraft gun replaced the cannon.

There are still cannon located in this fortress from the Spanish era. The place has been well maintained throughout the years and is in great shape. I've toured the one in St. Augustine, Florida and that one is also in good condition. It seems as though the Spanish built structures to last whether they were churches or forts.

Next we walked down to the Castillo San Cristobal. This is a fortress which was built to protect the empire from land based attacks. It resembles El Morro in many respects and is in just as good condition.

After the cruise, we walked around the old district and admired the old churches and buildings. At night, there were vendors along the sidewalks and in the parks selling everything from paintings to candy. This was the highlight of our cruise and wasn't even part of it.

---