San Juan - Happy Thanksgiving from Old San JuanNov 27, 2008
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Cool Shades, Ha?
Companions at Sea
The Sea has so many shades of Blue
We were brought out of a sound sleep by the sound of my cell phone signaling receipt of a text message; this didn’t concern me too much since I had just communicated with my sister by email and all was fine in Ireland; but, nonetheless, I decided to get up and check. To my relief, it was a text message welcoming us to the Dominican Republic; my phone was obviously roaming on one of their towers…so, back to sleep.
When we woke up, we had missed sunrise again at 6:40 a.m…..the slight motion of the ship makes us sleep like babies; I guess it’s like being rocked in a cradle. When we did get moving around, we were much closer to land as we sailed toward the northwestern end of Puerto Rico, now about 1,000 miles from Miami. We had buffet breakfast and visited with a delightful couple for a while by the pool. We had an easy morning since we didn’t dock in San Juan until 1 o’clock. We decided to be lazy and skip our morning laps on the jogging track since we knew we’d walk our feet off when we went ashore later in the day.
As we approached San Juan, we had a great view of historic Old San Juan and the Castillo de San Felipe del Morro. After we were anchored at Pier 4 and the ship was cleared, we headed ashore. Puerto Rico, the Rich Port, is a U.S. territory and, of course, since it was Thanksgiving Day, many of the stores and establishments were closed. We had mapped out a walking tour and we had a great day to explore on foot.
Puerto Rico might be a U.S. territory but it has a rich Spanish history and an unmistakable Spanish personality. San Juan is the capital and brings to mind Bacardi Rum (the distillery was closed), cigars, and strong coffee. The historic Old San Juan area has its own charm with cobblestone streets, brightly painted buildings and wrought iron décor.
Our first stop was at the Plaza de Colon where the statue to honor the explorer, Columbus, stands tall. Further up the hill, we reached Fort San Cristobal, which we knew would be closed. This was a huge Spanish fortification, overlooking the ocean; it was the site of the first shot of the Spanish-American War fired from Puerto Rico in 1898.
As we continued along the waterfront, Plaza del Quinto Centenario is one of the highest elevations in San Juan; its focal point is a 40-ft. high totem sculpture. On the northwest tip of old San Juan is the Fort San Felipe del Morro, a National Historic Site. Even though closed, we were able to walk around the grounds and soak in the breathtaking harbor view.
We zig-zagged through some of the narrow cobblestone streets, some of which reminded us of San Francisco because of their steep drop-offs from high up on the hill, down to the waterfront. The Cathedral of San Juan is an imposing grandiose building and a marble tomb holds the remains of Juan Ponce de Leon.
A pretty side street, Calle San Juan, led us to the Puerta de San Juan, once the city’s main entrance gates. We walked the beautiful promenade with the old city walls on one side and the harbor on the other.
We were getting warm so we decided to find Walgreen’s to get cold drinks and an errand for a special friend, Sonia. Sonia, when you read this, I was successful in getting your stuff. Then, we headed back to the ship.
In honor of Thanksgiving, the chef had prepared a special dinner of turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. It was very enjoyable and we all left the table overstuffed. I guess Thanksgiving dinner aboard ship is the same as Thanksgiving dinner at home; we overeat no matter where we are.
The evening show was an extravaganza called "All Access" and presented the RC singers and dancers performing some of the great rock hits of the last three decades; it was very entertaining and the costumes were spectacular. Ballroom dance music was on tap for the rest of the evening, while sipping Mai Tai’s, the drink of the day containing (well, what else) rum, Triple Sec, and juices.
Tomorrow, we dock in St. Maarten.
