Northeast Puerto Rico (Cont'd)

Northeast Puerto Rico (Cont'd)



On my last blog entry I left you off with a view of some visits along the northeastern Puerto Rican coast. I pick up where I left off on my last entry with another dedicated visit to Old San Juan which is also located towards the northeastern coast. Without offering a great deal of history on this entry - hey, that's what Wikipedia is great for - I think it is worth mentioning that the history of Old San Juan dates back to the early 1500s and is aptly named after Saint John the Baptist. Along with many great stories of Spanish settlements here, the images I collected during our tour of the city speak to the terrific architectural sights that await any visiting tourist. Old San Juan is truly "another time and another place" to the outsider. Without flying to Spain you might feel like you are in another country being in the heart of this city. If the architectural appearance of the surrounding buildings, signage, or vistas don't take you to another world, the culture present surely will.


The city's interior streets - barely wide enough for a single vehicle to navigate - often make for a challenging navigational experience for almost any driver. Forget paved blacktop roads. You know you are in Old San Juan when you hear that constant rumble entering the cabin of your vehicle. The bluish purple brick roads have accommodated many a vehicle during its test of time. Some areas of the road are uneven. Potholes, surprisingly enough, are seemingly non-existent anywhere where you drive over the brick covered roads. I didn't say they were smooth to roll over, but at least you don't stand to lose an axle in a 3 foot deep pothole often found in modern roads.


Our visit to Old San Juan was often limited by - you guessed it - rain. Most of our day was grey and overcast. When we could we took some time to stroll through the streets and dart in and out of small gift shops. Thankfully, the late afternoon to evening yielded much better weather. Breaks in the cloud cover offered some glimpses of blue sky mixed with bright sunlight. One of our stops included "El Parque de las Palomas" or "Pigeon's Park" for you non-Spanish speaking folks. This is a park - you guessed it again - full of pigeons which offers terrific views of the harbor, city, and mountains. The park's unique charm is the frantic scattering of pigeons. They live in the city walls, trees throughout the small park, building ledges, and scramble for bits of pigeon food sold just inside the gates. The birds, who are very conditioned to being fed, often scramble to steal from anyone who possess a handful of feed. If you stand with an outstretched palm of food expected to have a flock of birds land on your head, arms, shoulders, and anywhere else where they can perch and grab a bite. Nowhere else in Old San Juan is there such a concentration of pigeons. Why else would you live any other place if there was free food constantly being given away in one place?




Our day's visit also consisted stops at a local convalescence chapel, the governer's house, "la fortaleza" (spanish fort), and a tour via trolley throughout the city. Our day ended with extremely favorable weather. I managed to get a great set of sunset photos at the port (picture above) amongst many others. For an up to date view of photos from my trip, be sure and check out my Photo.net gallery (under "Links" above).

More updates to come as I wrap up my visit to Puerto Rico. It's been an outstanding vacation full of relaxation, eating, drinking, photography, quality time with mom, and a well needed escape into another world.

Take care. See you soon. - Eugenio