Welcome to Puerto Rico!! We arrived in San Juan earlier today and spent the remainder of the day touring "Old San Juan." It won't take you long to see why the locals call it "old." There are some areas that date back to the 1500's. At that time, Puerto Rico was not part of the United States but was ruled by Spain, instead.
My first stop was at the
El Morro Fort (also called Castillo San Felipe del Morro.) It was first built in 1539 to protect the city of San Juan from enemies coming by water. The fortress has 6 levels and is MAGNIFICENT!!! It has even been declared a
World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
I hope you find it as interesting as I did!!! Below is a picture of a "
garita" or guard station. They are located all around the outer walls of the fort. Can you imagine standing guard inside one of those at night...pure blackness and just the sound of the waves crashing?? Yikes!!
The "plaza" is inside the fort and is where the troops would gather for daily inspection. The rooms off to the sides were used for living quarters, ammunition storage and also as prison cells. There is a well in the center of the plaza; it can hold 22,000 gallons of rainwater (enough water for the soldiers for a year.)
The three flags that are flown on the fort are the United States Flag, the Puerto Rican flag and the Cross of Burgundy flag. The Cross of Burgundy flag is an old Spanish military flag, which was flown at El Morro 1516-1785. In the picture below you can see the lighthouse which was built outside of the fore. It still guides ships into the bay today!!
One last picture..we had a picnic out in the grass before exploring the rest of "old San Juan." I think I am still dizzy...I did about 1000 cartwheels across the lawn!!
My next stop was at "Casa Blanca"....which was home to the Ponce de Leon family. Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer who sailed with Christopher Columbus. He was also a governor of Puerto Rico. "Casa Blanca" or the "White House" was finished in 1521. Here is a peek into their house.
After leaving "Casa Blanca", we headed to Parque de las Palomas or ...Pigeon Park!! If you are scared of birds, this is not the place to go. BEWARE - there are pigeons everywhere!! I thought the back wall of the park was interesting - the cutouts provide the perfect safe shelter for the birds.
After exploring most of "old San Juan" by foot, we headed to our resort...which is at the base of the rainforest!! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!
Hugs,
Flat Rylie