This post is based primarily on
Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in 2019.
When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers
or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany
this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was
taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of
the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain
Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source
in the caption.
We
woke at 2:30 am to be picked up at 3:30 by the shuttle that would take us to
KCI airport, where we arrived at 4:20 for the first flight to Chicago. We
arrived in Chicago at 6:56 and departed at 7:21.
MT Thursday, November 21 11:36 AM – En route to San Juan: in flight over ocean.
MT 12:38 AM – San Juan: aerial view as we approached.
We
arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico early, at 2:44 pm (two time zones later),
but had to wait for a gate availability until close to the scheduled arrival
time of 3:18.
Puerto Rico (Spanish for
“Rich Port”), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre
Asociado de Puerto Rico, literally “Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is
an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast
Caribbean Sea. An archipelago among the Greater Antilles, located between the
Dominican Republic and the US Virgin Islands, the territory of Puerto Rico includes the main island of the same name and
several smaller islands. The territory’s population is approximately 3.4
million.
Originally populated by the
indigenous Taino people, Puerto Rico was colonized by Spain following the
arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. Columbus originally named the island
San Juan Bautista, in Honor of St. John the Baptist, while the capital city was
called Ciudad de Puerto Rico (“Rich Port City”). Eventually, traders and other
maritime visitors came to refer to the entire island as Puerto Rico, while San
Juan became the name for the capital city.
Control of Puerto Rico was contested
by the French, Dutch, and British, but it remained a Spanish possession for the
next four centuries. In the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but
strategic role compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain.
In 1898, following the Spanish-American
War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico under the terms of the Treaty of
Paris. Puerto Ricans have been US citizens since 1917. Since it is not a state,
Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the US Congress, which governs the
territory with full jurisdiction since 1950, but it does have one non-voting
member in the House of Representatives, called a Resident Commissioner.
The Greater Antilles is a
grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola
(Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands.
When
we got to our cruise ship, the Viking Sea, our stateroom (no. 3086) had
a strange odor and, while the stateroom steward (Fauzy) looked for the problem,
we went to the World Café and made dinner reservations for the two special
restaurants onboard: the Chef’s Table at 6 pm that evening and Manfredi’s for
Nov 26. They found a pipe leaking water into the air conditioner and worked on
it.
4:59 PM – San Juan: photos of Viking Sea senior officers
near Explorers Deck on Deck 1, showing the temperature of 84°F at 4:59 pm.
At
6 pm, we went to the Chef’s Table. When we made the reservation, we had
told them about Don’s ginger allergy; that seemed fortunate, since information
on the menu mentioned ginger twice.
San Juan: Chef’s Table menu, outside folded open – front cover (right) had the
theme for this night’s dinner “La Route des Indes” with the explanation: “This
five-course menu has been designed to feature a variety of spices; each dish
highlights one or more, allowing you to discover nuances of taste an the very
essence of these amazing plant materials.”
The
back cover (left) had the following information:
“THE
SILK & SPICE ROAD
“The
Silk and Spice Road existed as early as the 3rd century BC, running from China
through modern-day Iran and Iraq on to Antioch and into Europe. It was a long,
arduous and perilous journey, but the goods that came with the silk from the
East—cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, mace and long pepper—were worth
a fortune. Even today’s humble cardamom pods were sold in the markets of
Babylon, Thebes, Athens and Rome; indeed the Greeks and Romans even mixed the
crushed seeds with wax to make a kind of solid perfume so they could enjoy its
lemony, spicy aroma.
“It
was the lure of the spices that spurred the rise of the age of exploration and
the great trading companies—with “East India Companies” departing from Holland,
France, Spain, England and Portugal, and driving trade, exploration,
colonization and discovery. Not only were there new routes to the East discovered,
but also new worlds—and the foodstuffs, including hitherto unknown edibles and
plants from the New World and far-flung ports, like vanilla, chocolate and chilies.
“Although
spices today are generally much more affordable than in earlier times, they
still have the ability to inspire passion and delight as they bring flavor and
piquancy to the world.”
San Juan: Chef’s Table menu, inside folded open – on left is a continuation
from the back side about “LA ROUTE DES INDES”:
“When
Christopher Columbus embarked in 1492, it was in hope of reaching the East
Indies, birthplace of so many of the spices critical to Western European
food—pepper, cinnamon, ginger and others. Indeed, the spice trade was one of
that age’s most lucrative, and the elusive search for a new, shorter route to
its source spurred explorers of the age to travel perilously over thousands of
miles across mountains, deserts and oceans to bring back these foreign
delicacies worth more than gold. Even today, spices provide personality, warmth
and color to our food, and form the very basis of culinary identity.”
On
the right is the 5-course fixed menu for that evening. Of course, Don had to
avoid the “GRANITA – GINGER & TARRAGON,” but the rest was OK.
San Juan: inserted in the Chef’s Table menu was a listing wine parings with
each course (except for the GRANITA,” which Don didn’t have anyway). For each
course, there was an included wine paring (which we chose) and an optional
premium wine paring (available for just this meal for $25 or included in the
Silver Spirits beverage package).
MT 6:48 PM – San Juan: Chef’s Table – MT and Don toasting
over main course “Beef Tenderloin with Four Warm Spices” (Spanish paprika,
cumin, coriander, and cinnamon).
MT 6:49 PM – San Juan: Chef’s Table – MT’s medium rare
“Beef Tenderloin with Four Warm Spices” (Spanish paprika, cumin, coriander, and
cinnamon).
After eating, we also made a reservation for the Chef’s Table on Nov 28 to celebrate our 45th anniversary (earlier this year).
On the way to our room after dinner, we stopped on the Deck 3 level of the Atrium to listen to what the Viking Daily listed as “Magical Melodies” by the Viking Classical Duo (male and female violinists), playing from 7-7:30.
7:33 PM – San Juan: view from Deck 3 of Classical Duo on
Deck 1 level of Atrium.
Later
we went out on Deck 8 (the “Sun Deck”), illuminated at night, for a nighttime
stroll.
MT 7:43 PM – San Juan: view to northwest from Deck 8 across
harbor to Old San Juan.
MT 7:43 PM – San Juan: view from Deck 8 across ship’s Aquavit
Terrace on aft end of Deck 7 of harbor and more of San Juan to northeast.
7:44 PM – San Juan: MT and Don on Deck 8 with “VIKING”
sign illuminated under the Viking logo on the smokestack; Don carrying menu
from Chef’s Table.
7:44 PM – San Juan: MT and Don on Deck 8 with “VIKING”
sign illuminated under the Viking logo on the smokestack.
MT 7:36 PM – San Juan: MT and Don on Deck 8 with “VIKING”
sign illuminated under the Viking logo on the smokestack.
After dinner, MT still had a problem with the odor, and they said they would work on it.
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