Before the girls headed back over to Europe and Daddy headed back to California for a week of working and 505 training, we all spent an afternoon and evening on a long layover in Puerto Rico.
We decided to stay in Old San Juan and explore some of its history. Like other important natural harbors in the Caribbean such as Havana, San Juan has a rich (and often brutal) colonial history, having been occupied or pursued by the Spanish, French, Dutch, British, and Americans, among others; for the past 5 centuries. It is one of the few walled cities remaining in the United States.
And things are OLD by United States standards. For example, the Catedral Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista, is the oldest church in the United States and the second oldest in all of the Americas, built in 1521. It also holds the tomb of Ponce de Leon.
Old San Juan is also a heavily fortified city, a legacy of all those Europeans wanting to have it. This is the San Felipe del Morro Castle, built in the 1500s...
...and you can see the Castillo de San Cristobal in the background here, which is the largest Spanish fort built in the New World.
Perhaps the most fun part of San Juan, though, are the beautiful cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and bustling cafes with all types of music spilling out into the streets.
Of course we managed to fit in a rooftop mojito or two, because you know, when in Rome...
Puerto Rico is definitely a place we want to get back to!
Next up, back across the Pond to Europe. Starting with Italy!....
Wonderful post and pictures, thank you