Today's port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, a place we have visited often over the years. The island of Puerto Rico is 110 miles long and 35 miles wide, with a population of about 4 million. Most residents are US citizens, and the country was made a US commonwealth in 1952. There is talk that Puerto Rico may become a state someday. It reportedly rivals Miami with night clubs and disco. And it houses El Yunque, the only rain forest in the Caribbean. This range of mountains can get 100 billion gallons of rain a year. Not sure how that was calculated, but it can get hot and steamy up there. Checking out the shore excursions, we did not see a trip there today. There may have been considerable damage during the hurricane almost 5 years ago.
Founded by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon in 1508, he became governor and created the Old City of San Juan. The area we traversed today was full of 16th to 17th century Spanish colonial architecture, most of which have been restored. Blue gray cobble stones that pave the streets in Old Town, were used as ballast on the Spanish ships. Can you imagine how long they have held up?
High stone walls used to surround this entire area, but eventually most of it crumbled. Now the area is full of homes with tree-shaded squares, monuments, and lots of people, mostly masked. There are two major forts here, as well as a cathedral, a convent, museums, and universities. We would hike the area for a few hours.
The ship was scheduled to arrive at 1pm, so at noon, the bow on our deck 5 was opened for folks to watch the sail into the harbor. Of course, we did that, and discovered there was a large Jacuzzi spa on this small deck. Now whether or not it is opened while we are sailing, we do not know, since there is a very high step to access the outside. The most fun about being out here was the show the boobys and the frigates put on. They were most curious to see people on this bow. We were more curious to see how long it would take to get "christened". When it got more crowded out there, we went back to our room where we had just as good of a view as we sailed past the infamous El Morro. However, we could barely hear Bettyann, the Cruise & Travel Director, give her scenic commentary listening to our interactive room TV.
In the area of the piers, we could see two distinct stacks of whale tails, obviously Carnival ships. One was the Sunshine and the other Mardi Gras, one of their newest and biggest. With almost 100,000 gross tons to our name, we felt like midgets. Docked at a pier further away, was the NCL Norwegian Sky, which may not even be sailing yet. And while we were hiking, we spotted the Celebrity APEX, a fairly new vessel, sailing into the harbor, which was also huge. Boy, that is going to be a whole lot of people in town.
Once our ship was cleared, we watched while people poured out of two gangways. We figured one exit was for tour people, and the other, independent. Local shore side authorities were reminding passengers to put their masks on. You could tell from where we were watching, that some folks do not like being told what to do. Some complied, and some did not.
We had decided that on this trip it may not be wise to seek out lunch. It is difficult to tell how much of the virus is around, and many of the cafes and restaurants in this part of town are fairly small. Some had chains draw across their doors, because the place was at capacity. There is too much good (and safe) food on the ship, we could wait until we got back.
So we began or 2 hour hike, but not before purchasing an aluminum bottle of water on the ship. No more plastic, and you cannot bring plastic water bottles back on the ship if you bought them onshore. Even though the weather was quite nice today, the sun was still hot, and we did not want to risk dehydration.
Heading straight uphill, we found the road of the Old Wall. The first fort we passed was Fuerte San Cristobal, a stone fortress built between 1634 and 1785. This fort is even bigger than El Morro and was known as the "Gibraltar" of the West Indies. Tour groups were already congregated at the entrance, and we could have toured it for a small fee. However, we have been here and done that, so we continued onward.
We took our time walking towards Fuerte San Felipe del Morro. This fort was built on a promontory at the tip of the Old City back in the 15th to 18th centuries. There were so many people out and about today and we realized most of them were locals. School must be out for the holiday, and with so many cruise ships in port, everything was crowded. Families were picnicking and flying kites, a favorite pastime here. Anyway, that was when we saw the APEX arriving to the harbor, which was about 3pm. As we said, they would pull up right across from us at the pier.
From the fort, we walked back the way we came, which was far easier going downhill. We ducked into a CVS to look for a battery-operated wall clock, but found none. Then we tried Walgreens, and had no luck there. Both stores were full of mostly crew members buying loads of snack food. Some actually bring suitcases to haul it back. Lines wrapped around both stores with a long wait to check out. Even if we had found what we needed, doubt we would wait that long in a line. Best to wait until we are back in Florida to shop.
Back to the ship, we searched for lunch, and found the NY Deli & Pizza opened. We both had Caesar salads, and a shared pizza and meatball sandwich. Our beverages were served by a waiter. Then we still had those free Mariner cocktail coupons to use. Going to the aft pool bar, we ordered mimosas in place of their special drink. It was so good, we paid for seconds. It was there that we saw the Coke machine, and asked the bartender how that worked. He said for $8 a day, you got a special soda glass with a chip in it. Then you could drink to your heart's delight from the machine. Just don't lose your glass, as anyone can use it.
Presty spotted us outside the NY Deli, and stopped to chat. He said there was a total of 1250 or so passengers on this trip. Then we heard from a waitress that there are 120 kids onboard….mostly because it is Christmas and many families are traveling together. We also told him that we were going to the Canaletto for dinner tonight, and he said we would really like it. Of course, he is the head of that venue as well as the Lido.
Spent the rest of the late afternoon relaxing on our veranda, and eventually working on photos. Dinner was at 8pm, and the Canaletto was not full. Of course, the ship is here until 11pm, so many people may be ashore. The special of the day was veal liver, definitely not our favorite. But the menu offered numerous starters and mains. Our Thai waitress explained everything, and made her suggestions. We were more than happy with our choices of antipasto, salad, calamari, and minestroni soup. Two slices of their special bread were really good. Although she did offer more, we said no, we would eat too much. Mains were short ribs and lamb chops with ½ orders of lasagna. All good. Dessert was shared chocolate tart and two types of gelato in small shot glasses. While we were ordering, the Mardi Gras blew her horn, and set sail for their next port. A half hour after that, the Sunshine departed, and by 10pm, the APEX left. We would ship out at 11pm.
Tomorrow will be another port……St. Thomas. Been there, but it has been many years. Bet it doesn't look the same.
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Report #5 San Juan, Puerto Rico December 22, 2021 Wednesday Mostly sunny & 80 degrees
