This blog post covers Day 5 and 6 of the cruise and perhaps it is more of a picture gallery of the pretty buildings in the San Juan, Puerto Rico and the diving photos from Olie's trip in Grand Turk. Puerto Rico is officially a US territory with its own flag and governor. Grand Turk is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas UK territory. For our purposes of country counting, we have designated both territories as separate countries and therefore our visit to each increased our total country count by two.
Day 5 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Our visit to San Juan fell on Christmas Day and with no shore excursions available as a result of the holiday, we had the opportunity to explore the island on our own. A small map picked up from the local Starbucks helped us to find our bearings. The Starbucks was quite popular with the cruise-ship crowds, as it offered free wifi for everyone sending Merry Christmas messages back home to friends and family.
 |
| The streets of San Juan lined with Christmas Trees |
 |
| Central square with a Christmas Tree |
Old Town San Juan
Old San Juan was settled on an island that is connected to the rest of the Puerto Rico mainland by a series of bridges. The old town's architecture is dominated by multi-coloured buildings in the Spanish colonial style and cobblestone streets.
 |
| One of the squares offering free wifi |
Plaza San Juan Bautista
Our first stop was to the eastern side of the old town, an area set up for Christmas Markets but was closed at the time we arrived.
 |
| Christmas stalls |
 |
| A stage set up with a forest creature |
Castillo San Cristóbal
San Juan was founded by the Spanish in 1521 when they were exploring the routes to the New World. To protect their conquest from other world powers - the English and Dutch, they built a number of defensive forts along the perimeter of the island to guard the entrance to the harbour. The forts are now part of the San Juan National Historic Site and UNESCO World Heritage listed.
 |
| San Juan was desirable as it was the first land on the route to the New World from Europe |
Castillo San Christobel was largest fortification and built in 1783. Whilst it was not open to the public on the day we visited, it was possible to explore the walls from the western end of the site.
 |
| One of the watch towers |
Exploring the walls
The city walls are thick and offer views of the Caribbean Sea, perfect for spotting invading armadas during previous centuries.
As we were busy admiring the view, a common green iguana came up for a visit. A quick search on the internet revealed that they are not native to Puerto Rico and are considered a pest with plans considered to cull them and export the meat.
Walking to Castillo San Felipe del Morro
As we continued west following the city walls, we saw a number of houses built right along the fortifications and covered in interesting street artwork.
We found the majority of visitors from our cruise ship at this fort. Walking around the open spaces and eating ice-cream from the small cafe. The fort has a long history - built during the reign of King Charles V of Spain, it withstood a number of attacks from foreign forces. The last use was by the US army during its occupation up to 1961 when it was converted into a national park.
Next to the fort is colonial era cemetery - Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis.
As we crossed the Old Town and headed back towards the Marina, we passed buildings that reflected different architectural styles.
The famous sweet cocktail made of rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice was invented in Puerto Rico in 1963.
Statues and monuments
The streets of Old San Juan are lined with many monuments commemorating different people and events, including Juan Ponce de León - the Conquistador and first governor; and the pillar in the Plaza del Quinto Centenario, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America and Puerto Rico. Other pieces of artwork have religious and cultural meanings.
With all the morning's exploring done, we had built up an appetite and became tempted by a piece of roasted pork in a shop window. It was part of a set menu - pork, rice, a potato salad and a type of dessert. Great value and extremely tasty.
Christmas Dinner
Back on the ship, it was time to celebrate Christmas and the crew had decorated the place with tinsel and gingerbread houses.
In the restaurant, the waiters performed as a choir, even an impromptu bit of table top dancing to the song Gangnam Style.
 |
| Waiters performing during dinner |
The next morning, Boxing Day - our ship pulled into Grand Turk and we crossed a narrow boardwalk to the Cruise Ship terminal.
 |
| The close proximity of the ships to the beach |
 |
| The beach facing the port |
 |
| The 'Welcome to Grand Turk' sign at the Cruise Ship terminal |
Olie's diving excursion
We separated into different groups - Olie heading off for a morning dive and Mei tried riding a segwayfor the first time.
Olie had a great time, seeing a wall of coral, taking selfies with fishes and hanging out with the fellow divers at the bar.
 |
| The view during the segway ride |
 |
| Segways lined up and ready to go |
 |
| First hurdle, crossing the front gate and onto the road |
Friendship 7 Mercury Spacecraft
In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. His space-craft, named Friendship 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean just east of Grand Turk. A small exhibition about the event, America's space program and replica of the space-craft has been set up near the Cruise Terminal in Grand Turk.
Whilst waiting for Olie to finish his shore excursion, Mei discovered the popular bar - Margaritaville where drinks are served with a test tube of tequila and delicious soft tacos. A perfect way to finish off our last Caribbean island visit, with Day 7 at sea and Day 8 back at the Port of Miami.
Orlando, Florida
**Connect With Us**
This post was written by: Culture StampsIf you liked this post, please share it with others using the social media buttons below.
To connect with us and see snippets of our Culture Stamp travel adventures:
- Follow Culture Stamps on Twitter
- LIKE our Culture Stamps Page on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment