A return visit

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Geo: 18.4672, -66.1179

The previous time we had been to San Juan in Puerto Rico, it was a Sunday and everything was closed so we didn't get a feeling for the place. This time the ship docked in the bay on a Saturday and the whole place was very lively. We caught a free trolley bus which took us up to the San Cristobal Castle and also gave us a general view of the town. Puerto Rico was heavily fortified by the Spanish 250 years ago because it was an ideal deep harbour for all the ships coming over from Europe on route to America. The top of the castle gives good views of the town and the walls are very thick so would have given good defence. For $5 each our ticket also gave us entrance to the San Felipe del Morro castle at the other end of town. There is a bus stop outside San Cristobal castle and the free trolley bus service takes you all the way to the other castle. After visiting the second castle it is only a short walk into the old town. The streets are paved with blue cobbles which originally were used as ballast for the Spanish ships coming over from Europe. The Cathedral is fairly plain but worth popping into. There are lots of nice buildings in the town and from the type of shops you can see that it is quite wealthy. We met a young couple from Miami who had just flown over for a weekend break, which is easy for them as nowadays Puerto Rico is an American colony. Lots of people still speak Spanish as well as English. We didn't see all there was to see so it would be worth having another visit one day.

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