Tuesday,
January 30, 2024
Sky
Princess
Stateroom
S222/17
Old
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Sun,
83F
We love Puerto Rico!
Where
did our 14,000 steps take us today? Old San Juan is within steps of the port.
Our first stop was Walgreen’s for cat nibbles and hair gel. Walgreens is half a
block from the ship, and the store gets very busy later in the day. Anyway, TK
was on a mission to find the stray cats that we saw on our last visit. The story is that some are believed to be descendants
of colonial-era cats brought to the island by Spanish ships. More recently, mid-20th century,
cats were brought to the capital in the to kill rats. Guess what, the cats
multiplied.
It
did not take long to see cats roaming around as we walked along the tree lined
sidewalks next to the shore on this beautiful day. There
were parks, gardens, sculptures, pigeons, narrow blue cobblestoned streets,
bird of paradise flowers, bougainvillea, mangrove trees with exposed roots, and
tourists.
Blue cobblestone street (closeup)
Bricks in Old San Juan streets are blue stone
cast from furnace slag which were brought over
on Spanish ships as ballast.
The blue color comes from age and moisture.
They are beautiful!
Looks to me like a baby being sacrificed
I could not find anything about it
TK and mangrove tree
Close up of mangrove tree
We love tree lined streets and sidewalks!
Street cats
Fountain
Most
of the cats were friendly and hungry, they eagerly ate the treats TK was giving
them. After a while we arrived at the “Save
a Gato” cat sanctuary. A multitude of
cats flocked around the “Cat Whisperer,” a sight to behold, as they seemed to treasure
the treats that he was giving them. He really
enjoyed the cats and probably would have taken one home if he could. He left
the rest of the cat treats with the sanctuary.
And then we found the area of the cat sanctuary:
The Cat Whisperer
TK thought the car on the roof was amusing
Soon
we arrived at the back a U.S. National Park, which includes the Castillo San Felipe
del Morro, the citadel/fortification that protected the island from attackers
approaching by sea for the 250 years. Because
we were coming from the back of the area, we had to climb a very steep
mountain. Okay, it was really a hill, but still steep.
It is 16 feet tall, one of five, and the
last one still in existence
The mountain we climbed. It kills me
that I cannot capture perspective
El Morro still protects the island!
By
this time we were very thirsty, and TK spotted a sign for a coffee shop within
the old army barracks near El Morro. Coffee was probably not the best thirst
quencher, but it sure was delicious at the Don Ruiz Café inside the barracks
area plaza. It turned out that Don Ruiz is a 4th generation coffee
producer whose ancestors arrived in the Caribbean during the 15th
century Spanish colonization. We would totally
recommend a stop for coffee here!
Don Ruiz Cafe
Very good coffee
Army barracks for the fortress
Between
El Morro and the barracks is a square with a 4o foot tower known as El Totem
Telurico, meant to symbolize the origin of the New World. The square itself was
built in 1992 as a commemoration of Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas. I am very fond of public art and Old San Juan
did not disappoint!
El Totem Telurico
We
continued our journey to Restaurant Barrachina, 104 Fortaleza, in Old San Juan. We always stop here—a place that claims to be
the birthplace of the pina colada. The pina colada here (without alcohol) is
the very best, fresh, not watered down, delicious pineapple and coconut!
A peak into Barrachina
Entrance
The quintessential Pina Colada!
The
appetizers we shared were delicious too. [Assorted fried delicacies (turnovers, corn
fritters and croquettes)/ Surtidos de frituras (croquetas, sorullitos de maíz y
pastelillitos de carne y pollo)]—whatever they were, they were delicious. I did
not ask. Key word: fried.
Obviously we had already eaten a few of these appetizers
I might mention that it
wouldn’t be Old San Juan without a policeman holding up traffic for an unknown
reason—thing blaring horns, black Suburbans, angry shouts in Spanish. The streets are narrow, reminiscent of our
favorite European cities.
TK bought another t-shirt
at Cariloha and then he spotted a Starbucks. We have a fun collection of
Starbucks coffee cups from many places we have visited. No coffee this time.
The lady next to TK (his left) wanted wave
for the photo
Our latest Starbucks coffee cup
TK is such a good model!
Twelve thousand steps
later, we returned to the ship for a break!
TK's steps today
I have 13,410 today
Flags flying from the ship
New San Juan looks beautiful too!
Soon enough it was time for dinner
and now TK rests.
TK’s
Takes: Today was the nicest day so far,
weatherwise. Clear skies, no wind, lots of sun, and smooth seas.
Finally, the ship's library cucbicles