The first thing we did today was get breakfast at.... Burger King!
Now, I have a standing rule when I travel - eat local! I refuse to travel to another country - or even another state - and eat the same old food I could get just as well at home. However, sometimes the restaurants we're familiar with here at home have local menus in other places. And so it was with Burger King. We had tostadas for breakfast. No, not the kind of tostadas we get here in Mexican restaurants - a crispy tortilla with various things piled high. The word "tostada" actually means "toast," and the tostadas we got were the Puerto Rican version of breakfast sandwiches - egg, cheese and ham on toast:
The "toast" in this case was a Puerto Rican bread called pan de agua, literally, "water bread." I couldn't find anything about it on Wikipedia, but you can read a good article about it here.
After breakfast, we drove into San Juan. Our first stop of the day was to pay a visit to Carlos' Aunt Letty (Cecilia) and her son Banban (José Luís):
After the visit, we drove into Old San Juan (w). For reference, here's a map of the island:
...and here's a close up map of San Juan, with Old San Juan highlighted:
...and here's an even closer up view, without those annoying letters in the way:
If you look closely, you'll notice that Old San Juan (or Viejo San Juan) is actually on a small island - at the bottom right corner, you can see the bridges across the little strip of water separating the island from the mainland. Old San Juan itself is the western tip of the island - the area colored pale yellow on the map.
Old San Juan is the site of the original settlement, in 1508. It was named, not for the Saint John that was one of Jesus' disciples, but for San Juan Bautista - John the Baptist. Like most old towns, it has narrow streets:
...but unlike most old towns, many of the streets are paved with blue cobblestones:
At one end of Old Town is the Castillo San Cristóbal: (w)
...and at the other end is Castillo San Felipe del Morro: (w)
...both of which are fortresses dating back to the 16th century. San Cristóbal was to defend against land-based attacks, and San Felipe was for defending the entrance to the harbor.
It's practically impossible to park anywhere in Old Town. I dropped off the others at a small sandwich shop called Los Tres Cuernos (the Three Horns), and found a parking garage a few blocks away. When I got back, I found that once again, there was nowhere for me to sit:
The place also had a small bar, so I snagged a bar stool and perched on it right behind Terry.
After lunch, we went to a bar next door to use the restroom. I was amused to notice that the walls were all papered with dollar bills:
Next door to the bar was a hot dog and waffle shop with a suggestive name:
...and an even more suggestive sign:
(The sign says "We're open," by the way.)
We walked for a while down the street, and stopped into a souvenir shop (one of many). It turned out, however, that I was the only one with an appetite for walking, so Terry, Carlos and Ashley elected to sit at a bar while I explored on my own. In their defense, I should point out that it was an extremely hot day. When I bought myself a paleta (popsicle), it started melting before I could finish it!
When making the plane reservations for the trip, I noticed that the airport was named for Luis Muñoz Marín (w). I had no idea who he was, until I passed this house, and read the plaque on the wall:
A little farther down the same street, I found a plaque honoring another birthplace - one of lesser importance in the grand scheme of things, but nonetheless noteworthy:
...although I later discovered, when I looked it up, that the claim is disputed.
I passed this interesting looking building, covered with so many pigeons that I felt like I'd stepped into an Alfred Hitchcock movie. A sign on the wall just behind the building told me what it was:
San Juan was originally a walled city, and about 3/4 of the walls are still standing:
Note that structure sticking out near the top of the wall - here's a closeup:
That's a guardhouse, one of many around the walls. Here's how it looks from the other side:
Of course, walls have gates. San Juan's walls originally had several gates, but only one remains - the San Juan gate:
Approaching the gate from inside
Approaching closer
The gate from outside
The Latin inscription above the gate reads "Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini," which means "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
Above the gate on the inside is this mosaic of San Juan himself:
...alas, somewhat damaged over the centuries.
Apparently, this gate, being the one that faced the sea, was the gate where important visitors would enter the city. After passing through the gate, they would proceed straight ahead up the road, until they came to the Catedral San Juan Bautista - the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist - where they would pray and give thanks for the safe journey:
Interestingly, this cathedral is Episcopalian, unlike most Latin American cathedrals, which are Catholic.
Here are a few other random items from my walk:
An interesting sculpture
Another interesting sculpture
An interesting fountain
The Governor's Mansion (seen from a distance)
Cruise ships
I rejoined the others at the bar, had a drink myself (as I mentioned, it was a very hot day), and then we reclaimed the car and drove out of Old San Juan. On the way in, we had passed Puerto Rico's Capitol building, and as we passed it again on the way out, I stopped to take a picture:
We then drove to a restaurant where we were joined for dinner at a very nice seafood restaurant by another of Carlos' relatives, his Aunt Marylin:
Back at the resort, we embarked on a culinary project. Terry had found a recipe for Puerto Rican cheese marinated in oil and herbs, and wanted to try it. At the supermercado on the previous day, we had bought the necessary ingredients, so we chopped up the herbs, mixed them with the oil, submerged the cheese in the mixture, and went to bed.