Puerto Rico: Old San Juan

Location, Location, Location

 

Our AirBnb was located in the northwestern section of the city and still it would only take about 15-20 minutes’ tops to walk to the complete opposite side of the walled city where La Fortaleza sits. There’s no way you need a car to get around and you’d have to be extremely lazy (or very drunk) to need a taxi. For a 2-bedroom apartment I paid a whopping 160 bucks a night… but it was worth it. It was one of the more expensive AirBnb’s we’ve rented. We could have got a cheaper AirBnB or hotel if it had just been Angela and I but we had also brought her son and one of his friends on this trip and so we needed some additional space. Angela and I would take a cool AirBnb over a cookie cutter Hotel any day. For me, I feel it gives us attachment to wherever we’ve visited and makes us feel more a part of the culture. The AirBnb we picked was clean, unique and gave us outstanding views of the Caribbean. Right across the street was Abraham Lincoln Elementary School. A courtyard with a basketball court outside had children playing basketball during recess. It was easy to forget that less than a mere eleven months earlier a storm the magnitude of Maria turned the Island into an apocalyptic nightmare. The children’s laughter proved the island would bounce back. The parents that came during recess to check on them proved no one would ever forget. 

 

“God must be a painter. Why else would we have so many colors?”

(A Beautiful Mind - 2001)

 

The streets of Viejo San Juan are filled with unique colorful architecture. Fortaleza Street being one of the more whimsical with beautiful colored umbrellas hanging like a canopy above a well-maintained brick street. The city is clean and the streets feel safe. Cruise ships line up every day in the busiest cruise port in the Caribbean and the streets become flooded with tourists. Many of the tourist shops carry similar items but every once in a while you come across a store carrying more unique original items. The restaurants offer a large array of cuisine choices. A restaurant called Barrachina (Huarrachina) offered up a fantastic fish dinner that I had decided to take advantage of. One late morning we also discovered a great little restaurant called Mercado La Carreta where everyone enjoyed a hearty brunch. 

 

When we visited Puerto Rico, many Americans were still weary about visiting because they feared Hurricane Maria had either damaged too much and it wouldn’t be enjoyable and/or that Puerto Rican citizens had maybe become so desperate that personal safety might be an issue. Nothing could have been further from the truth. We found a beautiful city and proud, courteous, hard working citizens wherever we went. Less tourists for Puerto Ricans was obviously bad but for us, it selfishly meant a better experience in a city that normally had five times or more people cramming the streets. We never felt pressure to spend money but we always felt gratitude from the restaurants and stores when we did. 

 

Some may not realize it but Old San Juan isn’t the only town on the peninsula of the walled fortress. Just over the wall, east of El Morro and the famed Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, is the shantytown of La Perla. Settled in the late 1900’s, La Perla has a little bit more of an edgy reputation. In the past it was recommended tourists not travel there for safety reasons but in recent years it’s cleaned up that reputation and has become generally safe. The colors there are fantastic! Famous music videos and even movies have been made there and hip restaurants are popping up all the time. La Perla sits outside the walled fortress and during Maria suffered significant damage since it not only didn’t have the added protection of the fortress walls but it also sits so close to the Atlantic. The architecture there is clearly different largely because the law during the 19^thcentury obligated the slaughterhouse, former slaves as well as homeless non-whites to build their homes outside the walled city. Those that decided to make a home there were quite a bit poorer than those that lived behind the walled city and although the structures today have been much improved upon, it still maintains its own distinct identity from Old San Juan which sits only a stairwell or two up and over the ancient battlements away.