We
stayed our last night in PR at the airport Marriott.
Oddly, it was the only place where we had reservations.
The bad news is that it was the Marriott. The good news
was that it was on the beach. In the morning, we broke
camp and headed into Old San Juan to see the other part of the
fort that we missed on the previous visit. That and to
score some good "mero en criolla" (grilled grouper in
creole sauce) for lunch.
The photos below are what we saw.
The
Marriott shared a great beach with a number of other resorts.
The view
from our breakfast table on the patio was stellar. Note
the reef on the horizon.
The
waves crashed into the reef with amazing force producing showers
of spray and foam.
I love
gals with boob jobs, but not for the obvious reason. When
done correctly, the results are plainly visible for all to see,
or at least hopefully so. No, the real reason is
that the gals that get them don't want to waste the monies
spent, so they exercise vigorously too, typically producing a
stunning result. The one above is good-to-go and was a
wonderful contrast to some of the animal life that we have
recently seen.
We left
the Marriott and went to Old San Juan to see the other part of
the fort. This is an imposing structure particularly given
that it took 250 years to complete and was started in the
1500s. This is the main courtyard.
The fort
we visited previously, El Morro, is visible in the
distance. The fortified walls surround all of old San
Juan.
The old
cannons were mounted on cast iron wheels that pivoted on the big
pin. The pin held the position constant, absorbed the
recoil and allowed easy reference for changing the angle of
fire.
The
eastern watch tower had a great view of the surf.
The
upper portion of the walls provide a nice view of the capitol
building and downtown San Juan.
There
are dwellings outside the northern walls between the walls and
the surf. This must be prime real estate, but dicey during
a hurricane. And given the proximity to town and the
ocean, I would have expected nicer places.
Rainwater
was gathered within the fort and stored in giant cisterns.
The well above provided access to the water.
The Old
San Juan Casino.
The cars
in the parking area provide a sense of scale for the massive
walls.
The stiff
breezes on the upper towers kept the temperatures acceptable.
But, it was much hotter on the ground level.
This structure is the
access to the circular stairs that descend to the inner portion
of the castle.
One of
the many barracks areas for the troops.
The map
was nicely done and while the text is too small to read on this
page, it does give a reasonable overview of the layout of Old
San Juan.
The fort
was assembled using a combination of cut stone, bricks and
rubble. Then it was coated with a limestone plaster.
The park service is restoring the outside coating.
To the
north we could see a tug pulling a barge with containers.
On the
egress from the fort,
I asked
Kathleen stand next to the wall to provide a sense of
scale. These walls are truly massive.
We had a
great lunch at a small restaurant near the castle. On my
way out, I spotted this fellow napping on the ledge in the
shadows.
The
alley next to the restaurant was paved with Old San Juan's
signature blue bricks. The fellow with the crutches is
visible on the right.
On our
way back to the parking lot we passed a number of fine examples
of colonial architecture. This building had nice wrought
iron railings.
This
building had nice wooden doors and intricate iron work.
The Caribbean as
awesome. Some folks do not like the steamy heat of the
tropics, but I find it desirable. The ocean
temperatures actually allow swimming and water sports without wet
suits. All in all, a wonderful trip.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2012, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.