San Juan, Puerto Rico

February 7, 2023

The clocks went forward an hour again last night. I believe that puts us in the Atlantic Time Zone, or two hours ahead of home. This morning I was surprised when I checked my clock and saw it was 8:00 am because the room was pitch black. I pulled back the curtain and was blinded by the bright sunshine. The room darkening drapes really do work well!

I guess the time change and late port arrival was reason for many other late sleepers as well. The buffet was not crowded at all when we arrived. I decided to change up my breakfast today and went for scrambled eggs (instead of poached) and also noticed biscuits and gravy which I had to sample. (What can I say, I'm a southern gal.) But the real treat for me was a bowl of fresh mixed berries topped with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. I need to be careful with my carb intake and the breakfast selections are such a temptation to me. So many kinds of breads, pastries, pancakes, waffles, crepes and on and on and on.

When Bob went to play pickleball, I went to the shore excursions desk in the Crow's Nest. Six ships are scheduled to be in St. Thomas tomorrow and I was considering doing the sky ride rather than fighting the crowds at a beach. I didn't want to make that decision until the last minute and they assured me that we could get tickets anytime. Using the Navigator app we could even wait until we were walking off the ship. Another alternative would be to purchase the tickets at the ride, but booking them through HAL would let us use some of our onboard credit.

The CD Coffee Chat was already in progress when I arrived. Gage, the CD, was interviewing the hotel manager. I heard the similar chat on the Zaandam and was surprised both times that one responsibility of the hotel manager during the pandemic was to regularly flush all of the toilets on the ship to prevent the rubber seal from drying out. He also mentioned that we are sailing with a full ship this week which I assume to be a little over 2600 passengers. (That would be over twice as many people as were on the Zaandam last week.) Another little tidbit that I gleaned from the chat was that lots of changes in the onboard entertainment are coming soon...including a new dance show. 

I happened to turn on the news when I got back to the cabin and learned of the devastating earthquake in Turkey that had killed thousands of people. Between that and the Chinese spy balloon, our time away from home had been filled with rather major news stories!

The ship had started its approach into San Juan when we went to lunch at the buffet. The CD was doing a narration, but we could hear little of it over the noise in the restaurant. Back at the cabin, we had a perfect view as we sailed past the fort, El Morro, sitting at the mouth of the harbor. Two other ships were already docked when we arrived at 1 pm...the Sky Princess and the Oceania Riviera.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

San Juan Gate (last remaining of the 5 city gates built in the 1700’s)

We had no specific plans other than to explore Old San Juan, so when the ship had been cleared we walked off. The main cruise ship pier in San Juan is located right in the heart of the old city which makes this an easy port. We stopped by a tourist kiosk on the dock and picked up a map hoping to find the Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park). On our last visit in 2019 we had used Google Maps for directions to the park and it directed us to within 30 feet of the park but then we realized the park was at the top of the old city wall and we were standing at the bottom of the wall. Oops.

The gal working at the information booth admitted she had just started working two days ago and had no idea how to get to the pigeon park. Instead she pointed us in the direction of the main tourist center down the street. The lady there was much more helpful and knew exactly where we wanted to go. She marked our map with the best route to reach the park.

The directions took us uphill on the city streets for several blocks. We stopped at a couple of small parks, but kept going until we found the Parque de las Palomas...the Pigeon Park. Even before Bob pulled out the bread that he had brought, the pigeons were landing on our arms and heads. (I was on the verge of freaking out!!) Once the birds realized he had food, it was total mayhem. As I tried to take some photos and video of Bob feeding the birds, I had multiple birds sitting on top of my head. The most terrifying movie I watched as a kid was Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and I felt like I was in a scene from the movie!

Here is a video I posted to YouTube from the park:

Entrance to the Pigeon Park

Since we have toured San Juan several times, we did not want to visit either of the forts. Because we had enjoyed visiting some of the plazas in Antigua and Cartagena, we used our map to locate some of the other parks nearby but they weren't very impressive. We mostly found a concrete patio area with broken down benches and very few trees.

We meandered through the streets, eventually coming to the Catedral de San Juan Bautista. From there we walked down the hill and through the old gate in the city wall. Following the wall along the water's edge we came to the Raices Fountain and then slowly walked back towards the ship. I was thrilled to be out of the cold and snow of Minnesota, but the heat in San Juan was a bit much for me. I was glad when we reached the air conditioned comfort of the ship. 

Catedral de San Juan Bautista

For a "pre-dinner" snack, we went to the Dutch Cafe for Bob to get a bowl of split pea soup. I wanted to try out some of the appetizers and ordered a bitterballen and mini cheese soufflé. I was surprised at the tiny size of each but really it was all I needed. Bob headed out to walk on the promenade deck while I went back to the cabin to shower.

To be done eating in time for our evening plans, we had dinner in the buffet. The ship was staying docked in San Juan until 11 pm and the lido was not very crowded. The comedian on the World Stage was Jose Sarduy whom we had seen twice on the Zaandam so we decided to attend a couple of performances on what HAL calls "The Music Walk" on deck 2.

We arrived at the Lincoln Center Stage (which becomes BB King Blues Club later in the evening) just as the classical quartet was beginning their set featuring British composers and bands. Their selections leaned more to contemporary music which I enjoyed. From there we walked the short distance to Billboard Onboard where the two piano players were featuring songs that had been popular but never made to the #1 spot on the Top 100 chart. I think I've already mentioned this, but neither one of the singers can come close to the talent and personality of Clara Vee that we enjoyed many evenings on the Zaandam.

Billboard Onboard 

We ended our evening on our balcony looking out over the city lights of old San Juan.

San Juan

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Today we had the best of both worlds...a leisurely sea day in the morning and a port day in the afternoon and evening. The Veendam wasn't scheduled to arrive in San Juan until 1:00 pm so we had made arrangements to meet Jon and Michelle at the dining room for breakfast. I always plan on eating breakfast in the dining room on sea days but then never do. This time we did! It was a nice and peaceful way to begin the day!

Last night, Jon had insisted that Michelle remove the braids in his hair. He may have supported the local economy by getting the braids, but he paid for the experience with not only money, but pain. And last night he discovered that getting rid of the braids was even more painful than having them put in. When Michelle was done, it left a strip of hair down the middle of his head which was sticking straight up (and he didn't bother to fix). Our dinner waiter, Oka, walked by while we were eating breakfast and did a double take when he saw Jon. With a little snicker, he said "something happened?" and just continued on his way.

The guys had made arrangements to play pickleball at 9:30 and Michelle and I went out on the walking deck to sit in the lounge chairs visiting as I updated my blog notes. A while later, she left to go get something to drink and missed seeing a pod of dolphins jumping alongside the ship.

When Michelle didn't return, I checked and she had left a message on the Navigator app saying she was at the pickleball court. I went up there and she and Jon were playing a game against Charley (that we had met at breakfast yesterday) and another guy who was new to the sport. Right away I noticed that Charley had a bloody forehead with a giant bump. Bob (in paramedic mode) came walking up to the court holding a plastic bag full of ice. Turns out Charley had whacked himself in the head with his own paddle!

Michelle & Jon (with his NEW athletic shoes!) playing pickleball

I sat and watched until they finished the game and then Michelle and I went to the Crow's Nest. Bob and Jon showered and met us there in time to hear Cisco (the EXC guide) give a commentary as we sailed in to the port of San Juan. The Crow's Nest was a great place to view the fort and Old San Juan...but not the greatest place to get photos through the windows.

Waiting for the commentary to begin as we sail into San Juan.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Colorful buildings of old San Juan

Sailing past the fort.

The four of us went to lunch at the buffet and then got off the ship around 1:30. Bob and I had been to San Juan a couple of times and from our last visit in 2015 I knew it was an uphill walk to get to our destination of the fort, El Morro. Lyft was not available in San Juan, but I was able to call an Uber which took us directly to the entrance of the fort. The ride was quite a bargain at $4.14 for all four of us and was a great way to avoid the long uphill trek.

We drove by the capital building on our Uber drive to the fort.

Bob was able to use his "America the Beautiful" pass to cover the entrance fees for all of us at El Morro so it was turning out to be a very inexpensive port day. The temps were in the upper 80's and I was getting hot by the time we walked up the long walkway to the door of the fort.

There are two forts in Old San Juan...San Cristobal and the one we were visiting, El Morro. The two are similar, but El Morro has the spectacular views when looking down on the waves crashing below.

This photo was taken through the window of the women's restroom!

The guys did a more thorough job of exploring the fort while Michelle and I took the relaxed approach!

Trying to get the perfect shot!

This lighthouse was added to the fort in the early 1900's.
We sought refuge from a rain storm the last time we visited, but it was not open this time.

An iguana with a great view.

From the fort we walked about 10 minutes to the Catedral de San Juan Bautista (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist). The cathedral, built in the mid-1500's, is the 2nd oldest in the Americas and contains the remains of explorer, Ponce de Leon. By the time we got there, the heat was really bothering me and the warm, un-airconditioned church just made me more miserable. 

This totem pole was erected in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Catedral de San Juan Bautista

Tomb of Ponce de Leon

Before the cruise, I had watched multiple San Juan travel videos online and had a list of several places I thought would be fun to visit as we walked back towards the ship. After we walked down the hill from the church and through the city gate I used Google Maps to find a good route to get to the next places I wanted to stop...Pigeon Park and Senor Paletas (an ice cream shop.) It appeared they were close to each other and not too far from where we were on the Paseo de la Princesa.

Spanish settlers introduced cats into San Juan to help control the rat population and many stray cats still roam the streets today. Neighbors in this area provide food and water and a group called Save a Gato provides neutering and vaccinations.

Walking through the Old San Juan city gate.

 In colonial times, sailors would enter through this gate and walk up the hill to the cathedral to give thanks to God for their safe passage.

Jon, Michelle and I posed for a photo just outside the massive doors to the gate.

The Paseo de la Princesa walkway leads from the city gate, around the city walls to the Raices Fountain.

When we got to the Raices Fountain, the Google directions were showing we were very close to our destination. A large poinsettia festival was being held by the fountain which had attracted large crowds. A band was playing loudly and there were many booths selling crafts and potted poinsettias.

Raices Fountain. The water in the fountain turned off just as we arrived!

One of the many stands at the festival selling poinsettias. 

The three wise men strolled by. On such a hot day, it was hard for me to remember that
 Christmas was really not that far away!

We got to a spot that Google said was only 50 feet away from the Pigeon Park, but there was no sign of it. I stopped and asked a local man if he could help. He grabbed another guy who spoke some English and he started explaining we had to go up a long staircase and then walk a little more. Then it made sense! The park was literally above where we were standing...at the top of the old city wall!

I was not interested in climbing stairs in the hot sun so we found a girl sitting at a tourist information booth and asked about directions to the other spot...Senor Paletas. From her broken English we concluded that the shop was also located up the long staircase. But then she remembered that Senor Paletas had a booth at the festival! She personally walked with us to the booth. The stand was selling popscicles made from fruit and they were a perfect treat in the hot sun (although you had to eat fast!)

I think Jon would have liked to find a restaurant in town, but all I wanted to do was escape the heat and return to the coolness of the ship. We started back towards the dock, stopping briefly to look at the many craft booths. Michelle collects nativity sets and was able to find a unique handmade one. Our last stop was at the CVS store across from the cruise terminal for Jon to pick up some soda.

As we walked on to the ship, a crew member said there was a "special" Caribbean dinner at the Lido buffet. We had missed our regular dining time so went there instead. The food was OK...the best part being the fresh, sweet mango.

The pork tasted better than it looked. 😮

We were all wiped out from walking in the heat so decided to forego our nightly card game. Attending the Scattergories game in the Mix Bar at 8:30 pm was considered but we gave it a pass as well. The Main Stage entertainment was the BBC Earth presentation that we had viewed the previous week. 

Bob and I went up to the front of the ship above the bridge to look out over the city of San Juan. It was beautiful at night, but after a few photos, we were back in our cabin for the night. 

San Juan is a very interesting and colorful city, but is so much more enjoyable on a cooler day. It occurred to me that we had water activities planned for every port EXCEPT San Juan which in retrospect was a wise decision! 

Tomorrow will be another one of the "water days". Our beach bag is packed and Jon and Bob will have another go at diving after having their first attempt was cancelled in Grand Turk. Jon had gone through the extensive (and expensive) scuba certification specifically to be able to dive on this cruise.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Wednesday, March 11

Ugh…I was not crazy about setting an early alarm, but we wanted to be one of the first ones off the ship when the Glory docked at 7 a.m. in San Juan.

Our goal was to visit the fort, El Morro and do a bit of a walking tour of Old San Juan. A second fort, San Cristobal, is closer to the pier, but we had toured that fort when we cruised out of San Juan in January of 2012. (The two forts are very similar.)

As we started walking in the general direction of the fort, many tour guides were yelling at us trying to get us to book their tours…but we just ignored them. A city bus pulled up as we were walking by the bus stop. Trying to remember what I had read during all of my research, I “thought” the bus would eventually go by the fort and I was pretty sure it was free…so we hopped on. Well…I was half right. It was free.

An older man sitting behind us spoke English and was able to explain that the people on the bus were all just going to work and the bus did NOT go to the fort. He showed us which stop to get off that would be close, but once we got off the bus we weren’t quite sure which way to go. 

Another nice, young guy who had been sitting near us got off at the same stop and knew we were confused. He was a student on his way to the art institute which was located near the fort and he offered to walk with us. His English was very limited and my Spanish is almost non-existent but we were able to communicate enough to get a guided tour on our way to the fort!

Together we walked as far as the Plaza del Quinto Centenario (Quincentennial Square Plaza) which was across the street from El Morro. Here we parted ways as our new friend headed to class at the art institute. The plaza was built in 1992 to honor the 500-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s first visit to the Americas. At the center of the plaza is a 40 foot totem pole commemorating the Indian culture, which plays a major role in Puerto Rico.

  
Looking across the street to the fort.

 Just outside the walls of the fort was the Cemetery Maria Magdalena de Pazzis.

 The grassy area in front of the fort is often used for kite flying. Being a scavenger at heart, Bob rescued an abandoned kite out of the garbage and it became his souvenir.

 The gates had not yet opened when we reached the entrance to the fort, but we only had about a 15 minute wait. It gave us time to read some of the signs in front…and watch the pigeons. The fort is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. A single $5 entrance fee is good for both El Morro and San Cristobal forts.

The weather alternated between blue skies…and brief rain showers in rapid succession at times. At one point we managed to avoid getting wet by ducking into the sentry box.

Construction of the fort began in 1539 and I was intrigued by the history…and got just a little carried away taking photos!

The fort is built on many different levels.

Some poor soul had been left to starve in the dungeon of the fort (I rescued him and took him back to the buffet on the ship!)

If you visit the fort, make sure you stop in to see the restrooms. Yes…that is right! I doubt you will ever find a restroom with such a view!

This photo was taken later in the day as we sailed past the fort. The people in the photo are standing IN the restroom!

Built in the mid-1800's, the lighthouse on top of the fort is a relative new addition. Fortunately we were able to duck inside to get out of one of the heavier downpours of rain. 

I had found directions online for a walking tour of the old city that went from the cruise ship pier to El Morro. Since our day began at El Morro, we tried to follow the directions backwards as we left the fort and slowly walked in the direction of the pier.

The streets in Old San Juan are paved with blue cobblestones. Many of these are being replaced with new stones, but the original pavers were brought as ballast in the European merchant ships in the 1700’s.  

Our poor map reading skills caused us to go a few blocks out of our way, but once we were back on track, we found the Old San Juan Cathedral…the second oldest cathedral in the Americas. The original, wooden structure which was built in 1521 was destroyed by a hurricane a few years later. The current cathedral was built in 1540 but has undergone multiple renovations over the years.

The cathedral is best known as the burial place for Ponce de León…his body is encased in a marble tomb.

But...Ponce de León is not the only dead body in the cathedral. The church also houses the relic of San Pío who was a saint martyred in Rome. The Catholic church felt that the Catedral de San Juan needed a relic so it sent them the skull of San Pío. The skull is encased in a wax sculpture of his body and displayed in a glass case. The back of his skull isn’t covered so you can see it is real – if you look in his mouth you can see his real teeth. Just a bit creepy if you ask me.

The location where the cathedral was built was no accident. It is located straight up the street from the San Juan gate where Spaniards would enter after their voyages and then walk to the church to give thanks to God for a safe journey.

We walked past colorful houses on our way down the street to the San Juan gate.  (And I mean “down”. By doing the walking tour backwards from the fort to the ship, we avoided much of the walking “uphill” on the steep streets.)

We noticed several cats along the street and even saw where people had set out bowls of food and water for them next to the sidewalk. According to my research, Christopher Columbus brought cats to San Juan to help control the rat population and many of these feral cats that roam the streets of Old San Juan are descendents of those original felines!

Another rain shower caught us and we took refuge inside the San Juan gate which leads through the 20 foot thick massive stone walls. For centuries, these heavy wooden gates were closed at sundown to protect the city.

The gate leads out to the Paseo de la Princesa, an elegantly landscaped walkway with trees, statues, benches, and street lamps facing the bay.

At the end of the promenade is the Raices Fountain which depicts the rich cultural diversity and heritage of Puerto Rico through the images of Amerindian, African, and Spanish people.

Near the fountain was the the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. This building dates back to 1837, when it was used as a prison and was known simply as La Princesa. 

As we walked down the street, we noticed a botanical garden built inside an iron fence with the ancient stone wall as its backdrop. We wandered in and enjoyed the tropical plants as we walked down the stone path. With several large cruise ships in port that day, it seemed unusual that we were the only ones in the garden!

This statue in the garden was Felisa Rincón de Gautier. She was the first female mayor of San Juan and was much beloved by the people, holding the office of mayor for 22 years, from 1946 to 1968.

Working our way back towards the ship, we stopped at La Casita, the visitor’s center where you can pick up maps and pamphlets. Craft vendors had set up tables in this small plaza and we bought some Puerto Rican meat pastries from one of the small food carts.

We passed by these bright colored birds near the cruise ship pier...you could pay to have your photo taken with them.

By the time we returned to the ship, it was around 12:30 pm and we had been walking for well over 5 hours! I was beat, but Bob went directly to the jogging track to run!

If I hadn’t taken enough photos already, I took my camera and went up to Deck 10 where I could get a good look at the other cruise ships docked next to us and see across all of Old San Juan. With my long zoom, I could see many of the sites in the city…some that we had visited that morning.

San Cristobal....the "other" fort.

The view in the opposite direction was the "new" city of San Juan.

The Glory sailed at 3:30 pm and went right by El Morro. (The southern Caribbean cruise that we took on the Carnival Victory in 2012 didn’t leave San Juan until 10 pm and it was much too dark to get any photos that time.)

Here is a good view of the Paseo de la Princesa where we had walked.

The sail away caused us to be a few minutes late for the Past Guest Party in the Amber Theater. (We didn't make it to the party the previous week.) Between all of the walking and the free rum punch, getting dressed for dinner in the MDR seemed to be too much effort. Instead we were able to catch the sunset and then had dinner in the buffet. All day long we had dealt with brief periods of rain showers and the pattern continued even once we were at sea.

The evening entertainment was the Love & Marriage show which we saw the first week so instead we retired to our cabin for an early evening. As always, our cabin steward, Ni Ketut, was hard at work when we returned. 

The ship continued to rock and roll throughout the night as the Glory sailed towards our last port...Grand Turk.