Sorry Folks --- It Didn't Snow Here At All.

Saturday Feb 10, 2006

Cable news was full of the impending (and by now, the actual) blizzard in the northeast. Here, in San Juan, the images on the boob tube had an other-worldly feel. After all, it was summer here. How could it be snowing anywhere?

This was a day to get out and explore the historic center of the city -- Old San Juan - Viejo San Juan. Nowhere, it is said, can one get to feel the reality of the era of the Spanish empire and the conquistadores. It is a beautiful city indeed, very European and Spanish in its form and content. Since the 1970's many millions of dollars have been poured into the area to renovate this beautiful historic district.

We took a self-guided walking tour courtesy of Frommer's website available on my Treo smartphone. Emeo, our guest house host, told us to take the Number Five bus a short block away on Avenida Loiza. But we didn't see one coming so we headed east on foot, keeping one eye behind us in search of the bus. The bus is 75¢, exact change, but on Saturday, the sign said, it runs only every 30 minutes. Walking was more fun anyway - we get to feel the neighborhood and the ambience, explore the local shops and cafes. It would be way too far to walk all the way to the old city, but we ended up walking a couple of miles on the way there.

We sat for a while in a cafe. Oh my! A few seconds ago it was clear skies and beautiful sun. Now it was pouring. This lasted about three minutes though and then the sun was out again and stayed for the remaineder of the day.


Sitting in a sidewalk cafe, we worriedly watch a sudden downpour. Fortunately it ended in just a few minutes.

We walked on and when we finally got tired of walking we queued up at una parada (bus stop) waiting for the bus. A long wait ensued but we struck up a conversation with a mother and daughter from the NY area and passed the time pleasantly.

The bus took us to its very last stop. "All off for Old San Juan", announced the driver. We had ridden opposite an elderly Puerto Rican woman, a very pleasant and friendly lady who spoke not a word of English but who wanted to talk to everyone else on the bus, tourists and natives. An English-speaking-only tourist sat down next to her. Immediately the old one struck up a conversation. Never mind her partner couldn't understand her. On she went and by means of some sign language, facial expressions and a little help from neighbors, made herself known. She was very proud of the fact that she could ride the bus for free, she being beyond the grand age of 75.

By the time we reached the old town, it was 1:30 and time for lunch. So we found a cute looking cafe on a beautiful square - Plaza Colon. In the shade of one of San Juan's fortified old Castillos, the square, one of San Juan's largest, was alive with people, traffic, shops and taxis waiting for fares.


Lunch at the D'Latino Fever cafe on Plaza Colon.


The cool, dark and welcoming interior of the D'Latino Fever cafe.

Satisfied with some good Puerto Rican grub (I tried a delicious plantain stuffed with chopped meat, preceded by a wonderful plantain and bean soup spiked with lots of cilantro. This was washed down with the local beer, Medalla), we set off on our walking tour. We headed to El Paseo de La Princesa, a lovely esplanade that wraps around the peninsula that defines the old town, affording fabulous views of the San Juan Bay, the Atlantic ocean and the mountains to the west. At the point where it turns was a wonderful, large bronze fountain, Raices (Roots), sculpted in 1992 by the Spanish artist Luís Sanguino. It depicts the Amerindian, African, and Spanish origins of Puerto Rico as human figures, with dolphins cavorting at their feet.


Raices - Roots.


The Raices fountain on La Princesa - cavorting dolphins (and, today, kids too).


El Paseo de la Princesa - a beautiful walk along la Bahia de San Juan with wonderful shade, courtesy of ancient banyon trees.


The view of San Juan Bay from Paseo de La Princesa.

The promenade follows the path of Viejo San Juan's old city walls, built to keep out invaders. At the base of the walls today are beautiful plants and palms. I can imagine that it's a lovely place to stroll or just sit and set the sun as it disappears behind the western mountains of Puerto Rico.


Beautiful flowers and projected shadows of the palms along the old city walls.

Eventually we left the Paseo and entered the old town through the original main portal of the city walls. Here were quaint, cobbled, narrow and shaded streets lined with lovely homes. In the distance stood La Forteleza, the centuries-old Governor's mansion. As we climbed these steeply-inclined streets we got view after view of the bay in the distance. Today we enjoy these grand vistas of beautiful scenery. But back then the city was located high up to afford vistas of attacking British, French or Dutch navies. The history of San Juan was one of subjugation of the native population by Spain and then endless wars to preverve Spanish domination.


The Plazuela de la Rogativa with a view of the Governor's mansion - La Forteleza - in the distance. The statue commemorates a battle with the British who, seeing an approaching relgious procession, thought it was Spanish military reinforcements and fled in disarray.

We continued walking up a steep, cobbled ramp. When we reached the top of the hill we were greeted by an incredible sight: the famous Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, also known as "El Morro." This massive fort was built in the late 1500's and the fortress walls here were designed as part of a network of defenses that made San Juan La Ciudad Murada (the Walled City). One attempt after another was made by various countries to unseat the Spanish from their prized city, but each failed, due to the impregnable El Morro. We approached the fortress across a vast field. On each side was water: the Atlantic to the north, the Bay to the south. This vantage gave the Spanish a 360° view of any approaching enemies.


Walking around a corner El Morro came into view - massive and impregnable even to our modern eyes. Click the picture for a large version of this panoramic photo.


Hard to capture in photos, the fort here is viewed from far away and sits at the very end of the headland protecting the old, walled city of San Juan.


Looking back to the old town from the fortress - the old colonial buildings and the Bay of San Juan. What a great place for a bike ride, no?

We continued on route from one quaint plaza to the next and finally arrived at a lovely little square featuring the statue of Juan Ponce de Leon, cast in New York from captured English cannons during a battle in 1797. Here also was one of the oldest places of Christian worship in the New World, the ancient Iglesia de San José. Some cute cafes and restaurants lined the plaza's periphery.


Say hello to Ponce and the ancient Iglesia de San Jose, perhaps the oldest Christian church in the Western Hemisphere.

Just why this conquistador is honored with a statue is a puzzle when one reads the story (courtesy of Wikopedia) behind his appointment by the Spanish crown as Governor of Puerto Rico in 1509:

In 1508, Ponce de León founded the first settlement in Puerto Rico, Caparra (later relocated to San Juan). He was greeted with open arms by the Taino, Cacique and Agueybana, and quickly gained control of the island. As a result, Ponce de Leon was named Governor of Puerto Rico in 1509. Ponce de León and the other conquistadors forced the Tainos to work in the mines and to construct fortifications. The Tainos subsequently died in great numbers after exposure to the European diseases the sailors brought with them and to which the natives had no immunity. Ponce de León, however, became rich while serving as Governor.

Ponce went on to "discover" Florida and is probably the first European to set foot on what is now the United States. The story about the Fountain of Youth was a fiction that seemed to surface in tales written years later in the 1560's. Actually in 1513, dismissed as Governor by the Spanish crown in favor of Columbus's son, Diego, Ponce sought a spiritual rebirth of fame, fortune and glory (by exploring and discovering Florida, said by the Indians to be a land rich in gold, slaves and land). It was that spiritual renewal he was searching for, not a physical rebirth brought on by drinking magical waters, that motivated his two trips to Florida. The second of those voyages won the conqueror, not glory but a poison arrow in his butt which was followed shortly by death in Havana, Cuba.

Juan Ponce de Leon's body is entombed in the ancient Catedral de San Juan, which was next on our tour. This has been restored to its former grandeur and today, as we entered to explore it we were surprised to find that a beautiful wedding was just ending.


The beautifully restored Catedral de San Juan - where Ponce De Leon is entombed.


This wedding was ending just as we entered the cathedral to have a look around.


"Say queso everyone!"

Frommer promised a "two hour" tour, but hastened to add that that would be "without stops." We started after lunch at two and now it was well after five. Everything always takes longer than you think it will. We hired a taxi after negotiating the price and were driven back to our hotel. Joseph was calling for us at seven for dinner in a local restaurant, Metropol. That turned out to be a wonderful and authentic experience. The place was packed with local San Juaneros and the food was inexpensive and wonderful. It was the perfect ending to a very full and exciting day.