For the most part, we were fortunate to reschedule the included tours for the morning, so that we knew on what to catch up for our afternoon free time explorations. This morning's included shore excursion was Historic Old San Juan Fort by Foot.
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| Old San Juan was an easy walk from the ship's dock; the United States Customs House (1924-1931, by Albert B Nichols in Spanish Colonial Revival style) and to the right is Dársenas Square |
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| Christopher Columbus arrived at this island in 1493 and named it San Juan Bautista/St John the Baptist; later the capital became Puerto Rico/Rich Port and it is said that a map mistakenly made the name of the capital larger than the island, so that the whole became known as Puerto Rico and the capital city as San Juan; BUT, to the Taino people (the Boricua) who already lived here, this was Borinquén |
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| La Casita de Rones/The Rum House (1937) in Dársenas Square is home to Puerto Rican rums including Bacardí, which fortunately established a distillery in Puerto Rico, prior to assets being seized in Cuba in 1960 |
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| Jose V Toledo Federal Building and US Courthouse (1938-1940 addition in Streamline Modern- Art Moderne topped with bronze lanterns); the original 1911-1914 original building (not seen) was built to demonstrate the commitment of the United States to the Island of Puerto Rico |
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| The streets of Old San Juan are constructed with adoquine/ blue-gray stones originally used as ballast in Spanish ships |
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| Part of the Old City Wall (1634-1783) with a garita/sentry box |
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| Looking down from the City Wall to a plaza I later could not find how to reach, has a sculpture group (1975-1976, by José Buscaglia Guillermety) commemorating the heritage of the Americas (faith: Christianity, freedom: Age of Enlightenment, blood: Taino, European, and African, social: Mediterranean and European heritage, and cultural: the five main arts of the humanities) |
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| Plaza de Armas decorated building |
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| Plaza de Armas former telephone kiosk |
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| Plaza de Armas Casa Alcaldía de San Juan/City Hall (1604-1789, with 1840-1842 façade by Pedro García modeled after the City hall of Madrid) |
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| Spanish colonial rowhouses of brick with painted plaster façades on Calle de San Francisco |
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| A house with holes (above a couple of the windows) that were to equalize air pressure in the house during a hurricane |
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| In addition, many windows did not have glass, but rather shutters to adjust for breezes to cool the house |
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| The inner side of Puerta de San Juan/ San Juan Gate (1635) that passes through the 6 m/20' thick Old City Wall |
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| Christmas decorations near Plazuela de la Rogativa/ Square of the Prayer Procession |
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| View from Plazuela de la Rogativa of La Fortaleza/The Fortress and current Governor's Mansion (1533-1540 as a fortification), which is the oldest executive mansion still in use in the Americas |
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| La Rogativa (1971, by Lindsay Daen) portrays the legend where the bishop led a procession of citizens carrying torches and chanting during a siege or blockade by the British navy in 1797, resulting in the British abandoning the area in belief that reinforcements had arrived in greater numbers than themselves |
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| Catedral de San Juan Bautista/Cathedral of St John the Baptist (1535-1802 on the site of a 1521 wooden church, the second church built in the Western Hemisphere, upper façade added 1905) is the oldest church on United States soil |
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| Plaza de la Catedral/Cathedral Plaza: El Convento (1646-1651 as a Carmelite Convent, 1959-1962 renovated as a hotel and guest house of the government) |
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| Sculptures in Plaza de la Catedral by Jorge Zeno: La Nave de los Pingüinos/The Penguin Ship (2000) |
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| Gato Girafo/Cat Giraffe (2000) |
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| Galloluna/Rooster Moon (2000) |
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| Plaza de San José/St Joseph's Square with a statue (1882) of Juan Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer who was the first governor of Puerto Rico during 1508-1509 |
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| More Spanish colonial buildings on Calle de San Sebastián |
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| The Cannon Club does not need any sign |
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| Home of the Michèle Vasarely Foundation, named for the second wife of the son of Victor Vasarely, known for his Op Art Movement paintings, was raided in April by the FBI to confiscate the paintings said to rightfully belong to Vasarely's grandson, son of the first wife |
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| The planters are also cat houses, as there are resident feral cats in the neighborhood |
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| In the days when young women could not walk the streets alone, they would stand on the balconies to see their admirers; the board along the bottom of the balusters prevented one from looking up under the long skirts |
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| A squatters neighborhood below the Old City Wall on the north side of Old San Juan (KSS) |
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| Bastión de San Sebastián overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean |
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| The iconic view of the garita of the Bastión de San Sebastián |
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| A view down on the Garita del Diablo/Devil's Sentry Box or Gate (1634) on the water's edge below Castillo San Cristóbal/Fort St Christopher (1783-1793) |
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| Kent in a sentry box of Castillo San Cristóbal |
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| Castillo San Cristóbal well; the fortress is known for its five cisterns that could hold 800,000 gallons of rainwater |
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| Reconstructed 18C barracks |
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| Old Spanish bronze 8-pound cannon |
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| View east over Castillo San Cristóbal, with the dome of the Capitolio to the right |
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| Flags of the United States, Puerto Rico, and a Cross of Burgundy battle flag (flown at former Spanish fortifications in the Americas) |
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| View of the Atlantic Ocean and coins on a "windowsill" |
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| Plaza Colón/Columbus Square |
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| Plaza Colón statue (1893) of Columbus |
Next: Old San Juan Free Time.
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