San Juan, Puerto Rico

February 12 - 18, 2014

Making it to San Juan, Puerto Rico felt like a huge accomplishment.  In our minds we were finally in the Caribbean!  The Spanish Virgin Islands are on the east coast and after that it is one beautiful island after another.  

San Juan Bay Marina (the only public marina in San Juan) received very bad reviews on Active Captain.  We thought being in the middle of town would be convenient.  The reviews were right.  The marina is expensive, in poor condition, no amenities (not even wifi or dock carts), and the staff was nonexistent.  

We rented a car for the week  and spent each day exploring and picking up supplies.   We have been looking forward to Puerto Rico's Costco, since we saw the Bahamian grocery stores.  There were three Costcos with the same products as the States!  It was heaven…..  One small disappointment --  Soda Stream, the beverage maker that we depend on, is not sold here.  They can't import the tanks that carbonate the beverage.  Bummer!  I may have to start drinking water!  What a radical thought.

A busy Old San Juan street on Sunday afternoon

We drove through Old San Juan several times to see what was there.  On Sunday we  did a walking tour.  This part of town is always mobbed by cruise ship passengers.  Sunday was especially busy as the locals were also there.  It is located on narrow streets with steep hills and an abundance of restaurants, bars and souvenir  shops.  On Sundays the main street is closed off for performances of all types:  singers, unicyclists, jugglers, bands, puppets.  And each performer had a huge crowd surrounding them.  The forts were getting even more

Lunch with the locals.

visitors than normal.  It was Presidents' Day week-end and there was no admission fee.  The surrounding parks were filled with families having picnics and flying kites.                          

Castillo San Felipe del Morro 
Construction started in 1539.  

Built to protect San Juan's deep water bay.  It was
the first good harbor for sailing ships traveling to
the New World from Europe.  Usually a 1 - 2 month
trip.

  

A second fort, Castillo San Cristobal, is connected
to El Morro by a wall.

A day trip to Ponce takes us through the mountains
to the south side of Puerto Rico.
On the north side the mountains are lush and green.
The southern side is barren with cactus.

Ponce's architecture has been described as a
whimsical mix of colonial, neoclassical, creole, and
art deco styles.

Parque de Bombas built in 1882 was used as the
city's firehouse.  It's now a museum.

Downtown Ponce

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

We stopped at a McDonalds.  At one end was a
normal counter, but at the other end was a barista
with a case of delicate pastries.   

On the 19th we left San Juan.  We moved Gotta Smile to Fajardo and the Sunbay Marina.  It was another six hours of rough water.  We got an email from a Krogen owner that has been in the Caribbean for six years.  They said this has been the worst winter for travel -- high winds and rough water.  I can't help but feel that our conditions are influenced by the same voodoo that is messing up the States.  No complaints from here. 

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!