Old San Juan
I slept like a baby... a baby in an extremely humid but comfortable environment. I met Doc, Eric, and Robert in the lobby around 1130 to grab breakfast at a local diner called Labombanara (which is recommended by Rachael Ray's $40 a Day, just FYI). Short stack of pancakes (or as they say in San Juan, "pancakes"), bacon, 2 kinds of toastadas and what appeared to be a plain danish dusted in powdered sugar. The carb-heavy meal proved to be beneficial for the ten miles of walking I was to do later that day.
Joe's Travel Tip: Servers don't like to split up the check in Old San Juan. Either inform the server before you start ordering, buy a calculator, or just take turns picking up the check.
After a quick browse through some of the local shops (hope you like hats) we met up with Joshua and Lauren in the hotel lobby at 1400.
From the hotel, we made our way down to Paseo de la Princesa to discuss the meaning behind it's ornate fountain and the history of the area as it applies to the Spanish who sailed to the area for 400 years.
Joshua also gave us a history of the interaction of the first Europeans to come and the native Taino Indians. Here is a wikipedia article regarding the Tainos.
From the Paseo de la Princesa we seamlessly toured La Muralla, the Wall of San Juan. This is a protective barrier that runs along the coast for much of Old San Juan.
The wall has a gate that leads into the city. Joshua is demonstrating below how the Spanish travelers arriving would cross themselves as a thanks for a safe journey.
Old San Juan is overrun with stray cats. The government has them all immunized and they're fed by locals, but I feel that their diet consists mainly of mice and lizards. I don't know. There's cats everywhere, that's all I'm saying. Okay, where was I?
The Catedral de San Juan.
This is the final resting place of both Ponce de Leon (first governor of Puerto Rico) and St. Pius who was a saint... and named Pius. St. Pius's mummified remains are under glass for public display.
From the cathedral, it was onto Capilla del Cristo. This is the site of a miracle where a man called out for God's help when the horse he was atop ran off a cliff and fell several stories. The man was unscathed, the horse was unfortunately an atheist and plummeted to it's death simultaneously becoming an equine airbag.
The Capilla del Cristo is now visited by those wishing to be healed. To the immediate right of this place is the Parque de las Palomas (pigeon park). Watch your step and wear a wide brimmed hat. Avian dive bombings are not uncommon. I've heard that if a bird craps on you then it's good luck. Joshua and I both were fortunate enough to be "lucked" upon during our stay.
We continued to stroll through some more of the southwestern portion of Old San Juan and finally stopped at one of the gems of the city. Barrachino is a restaurant on the site where in 1963 the Pina Colada was invented. DRINK STOP! Tapas and frozen pineappley goodness. I mean they had umbrellas in the drinks and everything. SALUD!
Next stop, Hotel Convento. This luxury hotel was once a convent. While digging a new pool for the hotel the crew discovered many jars containing aborted fetuses. It's believed that pregnant young women fled the lives they knew and joined the convent and aborted their pregnancies or the nuns would help perform abortions on local women. Either way, this could leave some restless spirits unwilling to cross into the light. The ghosts of nuns have been seen walking the second floor of the hotel. One hotel staff member was very forthcoming with the experiences had by several employees as well as himself.
Quite a tour of the city. However the abovementioned are only the bulletpoints of the day.My first full day was not a disappointment. Plenty to do, plenty to see, and more to come.
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