Old San Juan

The worst guide we've ever had took us through the San Cristobal fort and the streets of Old San Juan.  She kept telling the group that we could leave the tour anytime and go shopping.  We got very tired of this because we had come to see the sights of the city and learn the history--we are NOT shoppers.  She seemed to be rushing through everything.  Then we found out that she got off work at 1 pm and the tour didn't end until 3 pm!  PPPBBBPPPHHHTTT! to her--the only thing we bought in the last two hours was lunch.  Here's what we did learn--

The streets are very narrow (one car, one way) and constructed with bricks brought in by the ships coming to pick up the trade goods Puerto Rico had.  The ships would be loaded with bricks for ballast on their way over, then they would unload them and fill their ships with cargo for trade.

At least there is a small sidewalk so you don't have to walk in the street.  With lots of traffic it can get exciting.  Next we discovered that a lot of the old houses had a front on the small street, but then had a large piazza or patio in the center around which the rooms were built.  This one became a hotel.

I loved this statue.  It commemorates an event in 1799 when the British were trying to capture the city.  The priest and his parishioners were praying for peace and started with torches on a trek up the hill toward one of the forts.  When the British saw all the lights, they assumed that the Puerto Ricans had received re-enforcements, so they left.  They prayed for peace and got it!

Below is the San Juan Gate.  The ships docked in the bay and then those going into the city would walk up the hill through this gate.  It goes straight up to the cathedral where the remains of Ponce de Leon lie.  You remember Ponce--he's the one looking for the Fountain of Youth, or, as our guide put it-- the fountain of money.  There are also bones from a patron saint inside the cathedral.  We didn't take pictures of this interesting relic because they were cleaning the floors and had the passage blocked.

The road up to the cathedral must have been traveled by a lot of people.  You'll notice it is wide--enough room for cars to park AND a lane for driving.  Each facade of each house is a different color.  This is prime real estate and the owners cannot change the facade except to paint it.  Then can, however, do anything they want with the inside behind the facade.  The green one is worth a million dollars.

Now we turn to the fascination people in this area have with cats.  Here's a poster telling about their "save a cat" campaign.  We saw lots of the cats they had saved--they were downright skinny.  We just had to try out the cat chairs in the nearby park--not very comfortable, I'm afraid.

Next, we found a bakery that sold soup and sandwiches for lunch and ate there with some friends.  Check out the number of "Sttufed" delicasies on the menu.  The food we ordered was good and we met some members of the Church from Texas that came and sat by us.  The lady said we just looked like we were LDS and then she overheard the words "apostles" and "prophets" in the conversation and had to meet us.

We were very obedient to our guide who told us continually to be in Colon Square at precisely 3:00 PM--not Puerto Rican time, but American time.  We got very sick of hearing this and also having her tell us that she wouldn't be there but our wonderful bus driver, Ricardo, would be.  We were there, Ricardo was late.  Here's the statue in Colon (or Christopher Columbus) square.  Columbus is striking a majestic pose and if you look closely you can see the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria on the side.