4 stops on our cruise, 3 were predominantly beaches - Nassau, Bahamas (but the beach was a 30
minute after thought following Goldie’s Conch House experience), St Thomas, and
the upcoming Grand Turk, and in between one a port city - San Juan, Puerto
Rico. I am ashamed to say I actually knew nothing about Puerto Rico before
coming here except for meeting a native in the mainland of the USA and assuming
they were Mexican because their first language was Spanish. Shame on me.
On anticipating visiting what is about to become the next
State of the United States of America we actually welcomed not lugging around a
bagful of beach towels and were ready for a crash course history lesson with
only a camera bag in hand. No tour, no guide (that’s just not us).
Disembarked the cruise ship 12/26 at 7am. Need to point out
it was 7am… and already 80 degrees with a humidity factor making it feel like
95. And San Juan is NOT flat.
So.. a history lesson…. Today this is the country called
Puerto Rico, and its capital is San Juan… not so until a hundred years ago.
When discovered by Columbus the country was named San Juan after St John the
Baptist. The capital city was named Puerto Rico (Rich Port)…. But when it had
to be officially logged someone read the form wrong and reversed the country
name and city name. And so it remained that way.
Anyway being an island it was prone to imperial invasions
and so the Spanish residents built a fortress (still there today). They fought off the Dutch and the pirates and
then the British came. Everyone asks why British food is so bad – easy answer
there were conquering nations and too busy to cook – well they defeated the
whole Spanish Army based at the Fort, killing every last man. The governor of
the island turned to the Bishop as a last call for hope. The Bishop rounded up
all the women and children and took them to the Fortress top. When the British
army saw another massive wave of “soldiers” they retreated. So the monument to the bishop was quite high
on my list of to find.
High on Jeff’s list was the fortress, and statue and crypt
of Ponce de Leon – Puerto Rico’s hero.
So off we went. Again I repeat this is NOT a flat City.
Steep streets in sweltering heat. Phew! After navigating through the port we
stumbled across the original fortress wall and walked the coastal road. Of the
five original gates that served the city only one remained – found it! From
there up hill to the Fortress and bugger me…. There was the statue dedicated to
the Bishop and the women! Continued the uphill walk. Eventually got to the
outer landscape of the Fortress – thank God there was a fella selling bottled
water. We parked ourselves on a bench admiring the fortress in the distance
guzzling the water and enjoying a smoke right beside a school bus with a
disenchanted driver. This was when we noticed a sign. Fortress closed due to
Holiday. AHA! Another Catholic country. In VA 12/26 is 12/26, in UK it is Boxing Day,
in Puerto Rico is a Holy Day – St Stephen’s Day. I honestly don’t know who was more
relieved not to have to make that walk from the outskirts of the land to the
fortress but it was a good enough view for both of us. Anyways – refreshed,
re-watered we grab the map in search of Ponce de Leon. Have to say the streets of Old San Juan are
spectacular for old world charm and intimacy. And then you turn a corner for
breathtaking Plaza with trees and sculptures. We wandered many streets. At this
point I needed a fag. Reached across my shoulder for the camera bag which
housed everything from money to military ID to ship cruise re-entry pass. All
that was on my shoulder was the camera! No Bag!!! OMG…. I had just lost
everything we had somewhere in the middle of San Juan!!!! Adrenalin overload!!!
The last time I ran anywhere was in 1976 (200 meter dash at school) – but logic
told us it had to be back at that bloody bench at the fortress. Heat, humidity,
inclines suddenly paled away, I was on a mad dash. After running and running
and running I saw the school bus but it blocked the view of the bench.
Eventually got there. Dozens of people were milling about.. but there on the
bench was our bag. The disenchanted bus driver? He smiled at me as I ran up in
his rear view mirror and when I picked up the bag he gave me a knowing nod. He
was my St Stephen. He wasn’t about to move the bag, but I know he was
protecting it until we returned. Anyway by then my blood pressure was through
the roof and the heat and humidity really hit. Calming down somewhat we
continued our search for Ponce de Leon. Passed his home “Casa Blanca” and found
the Plaza where his statue was. Unfortunately the cathedral housing his tomb
was closed due the Holy Day, but Jeff was quite happy to know he was only yards
away.
Now all to-do’s were checked off. Time to just wander those
tiny hilly streets. Charming, old world and timeless. It was around this time I
went on the other side of an adrenalin rush. The blood pressure downer. I
thought my legs were about to give out or would pass out. Time for a stop – out
of the heat to rehydrate. We saw a hotel named Casablanca with “Rick’s Café”….
That was US!!!!!!!
And that was the moment…. The Jeff/Lizzy “only you two moment”. We couldn’t have paid
for what came next….
Elizabeth
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