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 7 am and went to Breakfast at Mamsen’s, the onboard Scandinavian
deli.
Mamsen is the Norwegian word
for “Mom.” Katrine Hagen is Viking Executive Vice President and wife of Viking
Chairman Torstein Hagen. Located in the Explorers’ Lounge at the forward end of
Deck 8 on each of Viking’s ocean ships, Mamsen’s is a special dining
venue named in honor of her grandmother and best friend, and many of the dishes
served there are based on recipes from her grandmother’s cookbooks. Even the
dishware replicates the pattern of her grandmother’s.
At breakfast, we met Robert (Rob) Warne and his wife Judy. Before his wife joined us, Rob said he was from Washington, DC and had worked for the State Department. He explained that he was one of the guest lecturers on this cruise and would be presenting lectures on Barbados and the Caribbean.
According to the Viking Daily: “Rob
Warne, a diplomat and professor of international relations, was educated at
Princeton, University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International
Studies. As a specialist in international economics, he has held numerous
senior positions at the US Department of State, including senior foreign
service officer for 28 years.”
His biography on the web site Regent
Seven Seas Cruises, for which he also serves as a featured lecturer, adds that he is “The former president of a
Washington-based think tank” and that his State Department posts included
“Director of Latin American Economic Affairs as well as Caribbean affairs” and
that he “served as deputy ambassador to the US Embassy at Kingston, Jamaica.”
We
told Fawzy that we still had odor from the air conditioner.
San Juan, located in the
municipality of the same name (pop. 395,326), is the capital of Puerto Rico. In
1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the original settlement, which he called
Caparra. In 1509, the settlement was abandoned and moved to a new site then
called Ciudad de Puerto Rico (”Rich Port City”). In 1521, Spanish colonists
gave the newer settlement the formal name Puerto Rico de San Juan Bautista (”Rich Port City of St.
John the Baptist”). The ambiguous use of San Juan Bautista and Puerto Rico for
both the city and the island eventually led to a reversal in practical use by
most inhabitants; by 1746, Puerto Rico had become the name for the entire
island, leading to the city being identified on maps of the era as Puerto Rico
de Puerto Rico. However, the reversal was completed with the city becoming
known as San Juan.
Most notable among its several
historical buildings are the city’s former defensive forts, the 16th-century Fort
San Felipe del Morro and 17th-century Fort San Cristóbal, and the 16th-century La
Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas.
In 1595, the city was attacked by
the English led by Sir Francis Drake, but artillery from the El Morro fort
repelled Drake. In 1598, another English attack led by George Clifford managed
to land troops, lay siege to the city, and occupy it for a few months. In 1625,
the city was sacked by Dutch forces, but El Morro withstood the assault and was
not taken. The Dutch were counterattacked by civilian militia on land and by
cannons of the Spanish troops in El Morro, but before the Dutch withdrew, they
set La Fortaleza and the city on fire. The British attacked again in 1797,
under Sir Ralph Abercromby, who had just conquered Trinidad. His army laid
siege to the city but was forced to withdraw when Puerto Rican defenses proved
more resilient that those of Trinidad. (See the legend of “La Rogativa” below.)
In 1898, US Navy ships arrived in
San Juan Bay, where they had brief encounters with Spanish ships. Spanish
forces in the fortress of San Cristóbal opened fire with their cannons against
the US ships, becoming the first attack against the Americans in Puerto Rico
during the Spanish-American War. After the Treaty of Paris later that year, the
Spanish commander of San Cristóbal was ordered to turn over the keys of all
military installations in San Juan to the US Army.
Old San Juan (Spanish: Viejo
San Juan) is a historic district located at the “northwest triangle” of the
islet of Sn Juan. It is the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico and the
historical section of the city of San Juan. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean
to the north and to the south by San Juan Bay (Spanish: Bahia de San Juan),
which lies between the city and the mainland. The city is characterized by its
narrow, blue cobblestone streets and flat-roofed brick and stone buildings that
date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.
Friday, November 22, 9:42 AM – San Juan: MSC Divina cruise ship docked near us.
At
10 am, we went ashore on our own to go to Fort San Felipe del Morro, since it
would not be included in our guided tour in the afternoon.
Viking map of San Juan, showing our port at No. 1 (bottom right) and Fort San
Felipe del Morro at No. 20 (top left); the complete key lists:
1
Port
2
Plaza de Colón
3
Plaza de San José
4
Quincentenial Plaza (Plaza del Quinto Centenario)
5
Plaza de la Dársena
6
Plaza Arturo Somohano
7
Plazuela de La Rogativa
8
Museum of the Americas (Museo de las Américas)
9
Condado District
10
Museum of Art & History of San Juan
11
Museum of the Sea (Museo del Mar)
12
Felisa Rincon de Gautier Museum
13
Casa Blanca Museum
14
Cathedral of San Juan Bautista
15
Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
16
St. Francis of Assisi Church
17
Santa Ana Church
18
San José Church
19
Chapel of Christ the Savior (Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud)
20
Fort San Felipe del Morro
21
Fort San Cristóbal
22
Capitol Building
23
Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital
24
La Princesa
25
Raíces Fountain
26
San Juan Gate (Puerta de San Juan)
27
El Arsenal
28
City Wall (La Muralla)
29
Plaza de Armas
30
Ballajá Barracks
31
Museum of Art of Puerto Rico
San Juan: photo in Viking Daily newsletter of Fort San Felipe del Morro (on
promontory at left) and part of Old San Juan.
The Viking “Cruise Documents” book and
the Viking Daily newsletter described this day as follows:
“Puerto Rico encompasses the most
alluring qualities of the Caribbean: white-sand beaches, lush rainforests and
inspiring Spanish colonial architecture. Compact and elegantly planned, Old San
Juan, or El Viejo San Juan to the locals, spans the centuries. El Morro
fortress has been standing watch over San Juan Bay since the 16th century. Its
20-foot-thick walls rise straight from the rolling sea waters, and its
formidable cannons peer out to sea. The dense streets of the centuries-old
city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are paved with steel-blue adoquin stone,
used to ballast the Spanish galleons that brought settlers and goods here.
These colorful, narrow byways lead to picturesque multihued facades and
townhouses with neoclassical balconies.”
10:20 AM – San Juan: city wall, with turret (sentry box),
near port.
Most of San Juan’s fortified walls
have guerites (sentry boxes, garitas to the locals) at
various points. A guerite, also called a bartizan or bartisan (in English) or échauguette
(in French), is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls
of late medieval and early modern fortifications. Mostly found at corners, they
protected a watchman and enabled him to see his surroundings. They are
generally furnished with arrow slits.
10:21 AM – San Juan: view from city wall back to port, with
Viking Sea and behind it MSC Divina.
MT 10:22 AM – San Juan: driftwood roots with Puerto Rican
flag painted on them (mild telephoto 53 mm).
At
one point, early on, we thought we had come to a dead end as we went west along
the city wall, but a helpful local resident told us there was a place to turn
right onto Calle del Cristo (Street of Christ). Indeed we found a narrow
passageway that led to that street and saw what looked like an archway, but
which we later learned was the Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud (Chapel
of Christ the Savior).
10:24 AM – San Juan: arch of chapel near city wall, where
we turned right.
San Juan: Capilla del Santo
Cristo de la Salud – façade at end of cobbled Calle del Cristo (By Daderot -
Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17179973).
The Capilla del Cristo
(Chapel of Christ), also called Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud (Chapel
of Christ the Savior) is a small chapel/museum. Built in the Spanish Baroque
style in the 18th century (1753-80), the structure has become a cultural icon
of Puerto Rico and was saved from demolition in the 20th century. Most of the
articles on its altar are from 1753. The chapel is located at the end of Calle
del Cristo (Street of Christ), now a pedestrian walkway. Inside the chapel,
visible through the glass doors, is an altar made of silver and gold flanked by
paintings.
The basic structure of the small
chapel is mampostería ordinaria or stones held together by mortar and
cement. It is a one-story-high, brick and stone structure with a curved belfry
atop it. Although it has a typically Baroque belfry, it also shows Mozarabic
influences. Its gate was added in the 1940s for protection of its interior. It
has three oversized arches that open up to the Parque de Palomas (Park of
Doves) and the streets Calle Tetuán and Calle del Cristo.
During days of festivals in the
18th century, there were horse races through the streets of the city. During
one race in 1753, a young rider and his horse took a bad fall and the rider fell
over the precipice at the end of the street and died. (According to religious
folklore, the rider was miraculously saved.) Regardless of the rider’s fate,
the purpose of constructing the chapel was to avoid similar tragedies, and it
was given its current appearance in 1780.
Continuing
along the top of the city wall, we came to Plazuela La Rogativa.
10:31 AM – San Juan: statue in Plazuela La Rogativa.
10:31 AM – San Juan: bronze plaque on statue in Plazuela La
Rogativa. The plaque (in Spanish) reads:
“LA ROTATIVA
“Lindsay Daen
“Durante
el asedio ingles de 1797 las mujeres de la ciudad, encabezadas por el obispo,
celebraron una rogtiva para impetrar de Santa Ursula y las once mil virgenes la
liberación de la capital. La leyenda atribuye a ese hecho la retirada de las
tropas britanicas.”
This
translates:
“THE
RELIGIOUS PROCESSION [or, literally, THE PLEA]
“Lindsay
Daen
“During
the siege of English in 1797, the women of the city, led by the bishop, made a
plea to Saint Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins to impel the liberation of
the capital. The legend attributes to that fact the withdrawal of the British
troops.”
“La Rogativa” is a 12-feet-high
bronze statue located in the Plazuela de la Rogativa on Caleta de las Monjas
(Little Street of the Nuns) near the Puerta de San Juan (Gate of San Juan). Rogativa
is a Spanish word derived from the verb rogar, meaning to plea or to
supplicate. A rogativa is a large religious procession of people making a plea
to God for help. In 1797, British troops, led by Sir Abercromby, took control
of the city by naval blockade. The British fleet was anchored in San Juan Bay
just outside the city walls in an attempt to starve the native people of
provisions. Spanish reinforcements from the mainland might take a long time to
get there, and a British invasion was threatened. The desperate governor of San
Juan ordered a rogativa. The women, led by the bishop, marched through the
streets that night. They started at the Cathedral and sang hymns; carried crosses,
torches, and bells; and prayed for their city’s deliverance. The British
mistook the sights and sounds as evidence of the arrival of reinforcements.
Considering themselves to be outnumbered, Abercromby’s fleet abandoned the city
promptly. The statue shows the bishop and three women in the procession.
Lindsay Daen (1923-2001) was a
sculptor and artist, born in New Zealand, who worked and resided in Puerto
Rico. Among his major works is “La Rogativa” (1971), a bronze sculpture in Old
San Juan commissioned for the 450th anniversary of the founding of the city.
Plaza La Rogativa is the most
scenic square in San Juan, offering a full 180-degree view of San Juan Bay, El
Yunque in the distance, Isla de Cabras, the San Juan Gate, La Fortaleza, and
the historic walkways along the city walls.
10:24 AM – San Juan: view, across thick city wall back
toward port from Plazuela La Rogativa, with garitas (sentry boxes) on
wall.
MT 10:24 AM – San Juan: MT by thick city wall, with view
back toward port from Plazuela La Rogativa, with garitas (sentry boxes)
on wall.
10:35 AM – San Juan: view from Plazuela La Rogativa to
northwest, of another sentry box on thick city wall; in background right is
Casa Rosa.
The Casa Rosa (Pink House)
was built in 1812 to serve the cuerpo de guardia of quarters of the
Bastión de Agustín. It was restored and expanded in 1881, converting it into a
residence of army officers. Today, an aid station for government employees
operated there.
MT 10:27 AM – San Juan: Don by thick city wall with view
from Plazuela La Rogativa to northwest, of top of another sentry box on city
wall; in background right is Casa Rosa.
MT 10:28 AM – San Juan: view from Plazuela La Rogativa to
west, with another sentry box on thick city wall.
10:39 AM – San Juan: MT pointing toward Fort San Felipe del
Morro in distance, from across grassy esplanade area.
10:40 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro in distance,
from across grassy esplanade area (mild telephoto 56 mm).
San Juan: aerial view of
Fort San Felipe del Morro (By Jaro Nemčok - http://nemcok.sk/?pic=25782, CC
BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11738663).
Fort San Felipe del Morro, also known as
Castillo San Felipe del Morro or simply El Morro, is a citadel built between
the 16th and 18th centuries. It is named in
honor of King Philip II of Spain. It is referred to as “el Morro” (the
promontory) because it is located on a cliff about 100 feet (30 m) high at the
northwestern-most point of the islet of Old San Juan, designed to guard the
entrance to the San Juan Bay and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San
Juan from seaborne enemies.
Construction of the citadel and its
surrounding walls began in 1539 on orders of King Charles V of Spain. In order
to have a viable defense while the rest of the fort was completed, a small
proto-fortress was erected during the first year of construction. It is
estimated that this section comprises about 10 % of the whole structure.
However, it was not until 1587 that the fort’s final design was drawn up, based
on firmly established principles of Spanish military fortifications of the
time, and that construction began in 1589.
In 1843, the first lighthouse in
Puerto Rico was constructed atop the castle. The top of the lighthouse was
destroyed curing the 1898 bombardment of the city by US forces, and the US flag
replaced the Spanish. From 1898 to 1961, El Morro became part of a large US
Army post called Fort Brooke. In 1899, the US Navy rebuilt the lighthouse
tower, but by 1906 a crack through and around the top of the tower required its
destruction. The lighthouse was rebuilt by the US Army in 1906-08 and is the
tallest point on El Morro, standing 180 feet (55 m) above sea level. During
WWII, the US Army added concrete artillery observation posts and a massive
concrete bunker to the top of El Morro to direct a network of coastal artillery
sites and keep watch for German
submarines that were ravaging shipping in the Caribbean. In 1961, the US Army
officially retired from El Morro, and the fort became part of the National Park
Service. In 1992, the exterior esplanade was cleared of modern roadways,
parking lots, and palm trees that had been planted by the US Army in the Fort
Brooke area and restored to the open appearance this “field-of-fire” for El Morro’s
cannons would have had in colonial Spanish times, and the lighthouse was
repaired and restored to its original appearance.
10:42 AM – San Juan: view to north, across grassy esplanade
area to right (northeast) of Fort San Felipe del Morro, with cupola top of chapel
in Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis cemetery and wall including Santa Rosa
Bastion.
MT 10:36 AM – San Juan: Don and MT with view to north,
across grassy esplanade area to right (northeast) of Fort San Felipe del Morro,
with cupola top of chapel in Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis cemetery and wall
including Santa Rosa Bastion.
10:46 AM – San Juan: view up Calle del Morro across grassy
esplanade area to entrance of Fort San Felipe del Morro, with lighthouse behind
wall at right.
MT 10:36 AM – San Juan: Don and MT on Calle del Morro, with
Fort San Felipe del Morro in distance, from across grassy esplanade area.
MT 10:39 AM – San Juan: view to right from Calle del Morro,
with lighthouse of Fort San Felipe del Morro behind wall (mild telephoto 53
mm).
MT 10:40 AM – San Juan: view to left from Calle del Morro,
with sentry box on corner of bastion of Fort
San Felipe del Morro wall (mild telephoto 53 mm).
10:49 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro - view
across stone bridge over dry moat to entrance.
10:49 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro - view
across stone bridge over dry moat to entrance (telephoto 81 mm).
We
decided it was not worth the admission fee of $7 each to see the interior of
the fort.
10:49 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – English
part of sign, to left of bridge, for “A Defense of the 1st Order” with text:
“Spain
built Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the massive fortification in front of you,
to guard San Juan’s harbor. To control the harbor was to control the entrance
to the Caribbean Sea and access to the riches of the New World.
“Puerto
Rico was the first major island with fresh water that ships encountered as they
sailed west from Europe. San Juan’s excellent harbor was the first secure,
deep-water port. The nation that controlled the harbor could protect their
merchant ships and send warships out to control shipping to and from the
Caribbean. For almost 400 years Spain defended San Juan and its harbor. El
Morro was the key to that defense.
“Spain
built El Morro over a span of 250 years. The oldest part—a tower that still
stands deep within the fort—was built in 1539. By 1790, El Morro looked similar
to the way it does now.
“Why
Is It Called El Morro?
“Castillo
San Felipe del Morro owes its name to the headland where it sits. El Morro
means the headland—a high point of land that extends into a body of
water.”
“The
importance of San Juan for the security of the Spanish empire so impressed King
Carlos III that in September 1765 he decreed San Juan should be made ‘a Defense
of the First Order.’”
10:50 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view from
outer end of bridge, with sentry box, across dry moat to lighthouse and flags
(right to left: US, Puerto Rican, and Cross of Burgundy).
Flagpoles on El Morro today
customarily fly the United States flag, the Puerto Rican flag, and the Cross of
Burgundy (Spanish: Cruz de Borgoña) flag, also known in Spanish as las Aspas de
Borgoña (X-shaped figure of Burgundy) or Cross of St. Andrew (Spanish: Cruz de
San Andrés), a standard that was widely used by Spanish navy ships and land
forces around the world from 1506 to 1785.
Cross of Burgundy flag (By
Buho07, vector by Adam Rędzikowski - Vectoriced from File:Tercio - Morados
Viejos.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24434845).
MT 10:42 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – Don on
bridge, with view cross dry moat to lighthouse (mild telephoto 53 mm).
10:51 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – entrance
with Spanish coat of arms above door.
Instead
of paying to go through the entrance, we took some steps that led down into the
dry moat.
10:53 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view,
across dry moat, of entrance, bridge, and lighthouse.
MT 10:56 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view,
across dry moat, of entrance, MT on bridge, and lighthouse.
MT 10:45 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view,
across dry moat, to southeast corner of bastion with turret (sentry box) and
east side of inner wall of fort; beyond that is the outer wall.
10:55 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – iguana, going
around southwest corner of wall at break in walls from dry moat toward sea
(telephoto 156 mm).
10:55 AM (Cropped) – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro –
iguana, going around southwest corner of wall at break between inner and outer
walls from dry moat toward sea (telephoto 156 mm).
10:48 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view
through break between inner and outer walls of island faced by the promontory
fort (telephoto 65 mm).
10:56 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view, from
dry moat, of south side of inner wall with sentry box on corner (mild telephoto
49 mm).
MT 10:51 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – Don in
dry moat, on south side of inner wall with sentry box on corner.
10:57 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – view, from
dry moat, of south side of inner wall with sentry box on corner; outer wall at
right and background.
MT 10:54 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – MT in
dry moat, by southeast corner of bastion with sentry box on corner; bridge and
lighthouse in background.
10:58 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – MT by
break between inner and outer walls.
11:06 AM – San Juan: Fort San Felipe del Morro – sign, by
outer end of bridge, in English and Spanish, for “The Dry Moat”; English part of
text across top reads:
“Imagine
attacking El Morro! To reach this point you already survived intense cannon and
musket fire. With the drawbridge closed, you would be forced to cross the dry
moat in front of you and climb the walls, all while under fire.
“The
moat was a key component of the defenses. A moat makes it difficult for enemies
to reach and climb the walls. Moats make the walls even higher and they hide
the foundation of the fortification protecting it from enemy cannon fire.”
The
English part of the callouts in the picture at left, from left to right, read:
“Vertical
wall 30 feet high
“Sally
port
“Drawbridge
(no longer exists)”
The
English caption for the diagram at the right reads:
“The
fortification was designed so that defenders could fire into the moat from many
angles. If an attacker reached the moat his chances of surviving were slim.”
English
part of text below that caption reads:
“Why
is there no water in the moat?
“Moats
can be full of water or dry. It would be nearly impossible to get water into
this moat and keep it there because of the way it was constructed.”
After
exploring the moat, we headed across the grassy esplanade to the northeast.
11:11 AM – San Juan: view back to Fort San Felipe del Morro
from northeast, with part of wall to north; on grassy esplanade in foreground
is the Cuartel del Bastión de San Antonio.
The Cuartel del Bastión de San
Antonio is a small house built in 1897 to house the troops in change of the
Bastión de San Antonio. Today it houses a shop of the National Park Service.
11:13 AM – San Juan: view, from thick wall, back to Fort
San Felipe del Morro from northeast, with chapel in Santa María de Pazzis cemetery
in foreground.
Santa María de Pazzis Cemetery
is a colonial-era cemetery that is the final resting place of many of Puerto
Rico’s most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863. There
are an estimated 1,000 graves. The cemetery is located outside the walls of
Fort San Felipe del Morro fortress. The average height of the wall is 40 feet
and the width ranges from 15 to 20 feet.
The location of the cemetery is
central to the Puerto Rican belief in the separation of life and death. The
colonial Spanish government at the time the construction of the cemetery began
viewed death with fear because it was a mystery. Therefore, they decided to
build the cemetery to overlook the Atlantic Ocean to symbolize the spirit’s
journey to cross over to the afterlife.
11:13 AM – San Juan: view, from thick wall, back to Fort
San Felipe del Morro from northeast, with chapel in Santa María de Pazzis
cemetery in foreground and showing more of the Atlantic Ocean.
MT 11:03 AM – San Juan: view to northeast toward Santa Rosa
Bastion and ocean (mild telephoto 54 mm).
11:14 AM – San Juan: Santa Rosa Bastion - gap through thick
wall to sentry box (or cannon port?).
11:14 AM – San Juan: plaque for “Santa Rosa Bastion.”
11:14 AM – San Juan: view to east from Santa Rosa Bastion,
showing more of cemetery.
MT 11:06 AM – San Juan: view to east from Santa Rosa
Bastion, showing more of cemetery (mild telephoto 57 mm).
11:30 AM – San Juan: view back to Viking Sea in port.
MT 11:31 AM – San Juan: Viking Sea in port (mild telephoto
45 mm).
We
got back to the Viking Sea around 11:45 and went to lunch at the Pool Grill
to get the seared ahi tuna steaks.
11:51 AM – San Juan: Pool Grill on Viking Sea – Don’s
seared ahi tuna steak with cooked red onions, both our plates from the salad
bar, and both our glasses of red wine (included).
11:51 AM – San Juan: Pool Grill on Viking Sea.
After
the Pool Grill, we went to the nearby World Café on Deck 7 for gelato
(Italian ice cream), one scoop each.
12:07 PM – San Juan: Viking Sea – view from Deck 7 of
Puerto Rican flag on roof of port terminal; in 2-story yellow and
salmon-colored building to its right was “Señor Frog’s Fun, Food & Clothes.”
MT 12:00 PM – San Juan: Viking Sea – view from Deck 7 of
2-story yellow and salmon-colored building with “Señor Frog’s Fun, Food &
Clothes.”
12:08 PM – San Juan: Viking Sea – view from Deck 7 of
“Señor Frog’s Fun, Food & Clothes” (extreme telephoto 343 mm).
12:08 PM – San Juan: Viking Sea – view from Deck 7 of port
terminal with Puerto Rican flag on roof
and “Welcome” on near end (mild telephoto 49 mm).
MT 12:01 PM – San Juan: Viking Sea – view from Deck 7 of
port terminal with Puerto Rican flag on
roof (mild telephoto 64 mm).
12:25 PM – San Juan: Viking Sea – view from Deck 7 of Fort
San Cristóbal on horizon (left), above Walgreen’s store to right of “Señor Frog’s
Fun, Food & Clothes” (telephoto 93 mm).
Since
we still had odor in our stateroom, the lady in housekeeping said she would
check to see if another equivalent room was available (after we sailed at 6
pm).
At
2 pm, we went to the terminal building to meet our guide for the included shore
excursion “Historic Old San Juan by Foot.” Unfortunately, Don had plugged in
his camera to charge after lunch in preparation for this tour but forgot to
unplug it and take it with him. So he had to rely on taking photos with MT’s
iPhone this afternoon.
MT 2:19 PM – San Juan: street with blue-gray adoquin stone
pavement.
According to the Viking Daily
newsletter: “The dense streets of the centuries-old city, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, are paved with steel-blue adoquin stone, used to ballast
the Spanish galleons that brought settlers and goods here. These colorful,
narrow byways lead to picturesque multihued facades and townhouses with
neoclassical balconies.” However, our tour guide said they came from England.
The popular version of the story is
that the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan are paved with blue-gray adoquin stones
(Spanish: adoquines) that were cast from furnace slag from Spain’s iron
foundries and were brought over in Spanish ships as ballasts. Slag is the waste
when iron is refined (smelted) and was usually just piled into huge slagheaps
at foundries. These stones are an ingenious re-use of the slag by casting it
into blocks that were used in the 16th-18th centuries as ballast in ships that
carried gold bullion and later (18th century) sugar from the New World to Spain.
However, a certified tour guide
explains on the internet that this is a beautiful story, but not true. The
stones were ordered by San Juan from the brothers Sutherland in Liverpool,
England. She also points out that ballast would not be needed for ships
carrying heavy gold bullion and other treasures back to Spain, although ballast
would be needed when the empty ships returned.
The blocks began to be used to pave
streets in San Juan in 1784. Their iron
content gave them their blue color and their durability. Because of their age,
some of the adoquines are cracked and faded and worn down by traffic. However,
most of the streets in Old San Juan are still paved with this material.
MT 2:22 PM – San Juan: bonze marker in pavement for “Marca
este punto el origen de las carreteras del país” (This point marks the origin
of all the country’s roads); the “km” in the center, surrounded by a circle may
be for “km zero”; the small “MMXI” would mean this marker was emplaced in 2011
(mild telephoto 49 mm).
The
first stop on this walking tour was Fort San Cristóbal.
San Juan: aerial view of
Fort San Cristóbal (By Jaro Nemčok - http://nemcok.sk/?pic=25787, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11855283).
Fort San Cristóbal, also known as
Castillo de San Cristóbal, is a fortress built by Spain in 1766-1783 to protect
against and-based attacks on the city of San Juan. Rising almost 150 feet above
sea level, it is the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New
World. When it was finished in 1783, it covered about 27 acres and basically
wrapped around the city. Entry into the city from the east was sealed by San
Cristóbal’s double gates. From an architectural perspective, San Cristóbal
(like El Morro) is a castle rather than a fort. Its design followed a model
known as “defense-in-depth.” It is comprised of several layers, each walled and
stoutly fortified to frustrate an slow an enemy not once, but several times.
There are three levels: the main plaza and lowest level, the main firing
battery, and the observation area and highest level.
In 1797, San Cristóbal helped repel
the attack on San Juan from the land side by a British force led by Sir Ralph
Abercromby. After nearly 100 years of relative peace in the area, about a third
of the fortification’s outer walls were demolished in 1897 in order to ease the
flow of traffic in and out of the walled city. In 1898, the first shot that
marked Puerto Rico’s entry into the Spanish-American War came from San
Cristóbal’s cannon batteries. In 1942, the fortress was still an active US
military base when the US entered WWII, and concrete pillboxes and an
underground bunker were added to the ancient defenses.
The fort has two entrances: the
historical entrance at the top of the hill on Norzagaray street and the main
entrance at the bottom east end of Norzagaray .
San Juan: Fort San
Cristóbal – ramp leading to historical entrance (By socaltraveler, CC BY-SA
3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59264607).
We
entered the fort by the historical entrance.
MT 2:33 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – models of
Columbus’ three ships.
MT 2:33 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – plaque, in
Spanish and English for “Models of La Niña, La Pinto and Santa María.”
MT 2:38 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – turret (sentry
box) on inner wall (mild telephoto 49 mm).
MT 2:42 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – tunnel.
The fortress consists of five
separate units, connected by long tunnels.
MT 2:50 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – picture of a
bomb above arch in tunnel (telephoto 74 mm).
Our guide said this was because
bombs were planted to collapse a tunnel if invaders tried to use it.
MT 2:59 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal –inner courtyard
with cistern.
The fortress contains five large cisterns
that were used for storage of water during the age of the Spanish colony.
During WWII, they were used as bomb shelters.
MT 2:59 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – side of inner
courtyard with troops’ quarters.
The troops’ living quarters
have been staged to show how it looked when the fort was in use, with beds,
uniforms, and dining tables on display.
MT 3:01 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – troops’
quarters with stairs to battle station.
MT 3:05 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view, from
observation area on highest level, of Viking Sea in harbor (telephoto 80 mm).
MT 3:06 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view, from
observation area on highest level, toward Fort San Felipe el Morro in distance
(telephoto 144 mm).
MT 3:06 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view, from
observation area on highest level, across fort’s esplanade toward Capitol
Building (telephoto 61 mm).
The Capitol of Puerto Rico
(Spanish: Capitolio de Puerto Rico) is located just outside the walls of Old
San Juan. It was built in 1921-29 employing elements of the of classical
revival and beaux arts architectural styles.
MT 3:08 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view, from
observation area on highest level, across Old San Juan, to Viking Star (right)
and another cruise ship, MSC Divina (left) (telephoto 44 mm).
MT 3:09 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – panorama view,
from observation area on highest level, including fort’s esplanade, Capitol
Building, harbor with two cruise ships, and Fort San Felipe el Morro.
MT 3:11 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – flags of US,
Puerto Rico, and Cross of Burgundy flying on highest level.
MT 3:12 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view, from
observation area on highest level, toward Fort San Felipe del Morro (telephoto
108 mm).
MT 3:14 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view of inner
courtyard from above (telephoto 82 mm).
MT 3:17 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – view, across
fort’s esplanade, toward Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery and Fort San
Felipe del Morro (telephoto 82 mm).
We
exited the fort by the “main entrance” on the lowest level.
MT 3:26 PM – San Juan: Fort San Cristóbal – lower level
with main entrance at right.
From
Fort San Cristóbal, the tour group headed southwest to Plaza de Colón.
MT 3:30 PM – San Juan: statue of Christopher Columbus in
Plaza de Colón (we had missed a photo when we passed this square on the way to
San Cristóbal, and MT ran across the square to get it as we passed again).
San Juan: monument in
Plaza de Colón (By Daderot - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17172233).
The Plaza de Colón (Columbus
Square) is one of the most important squares in the city. Originally, the city
wall ran through this area. When entering the islet of San Juan by land, by the
Puerta de Tierra (Land Gate), this square was right at the entrance to the
walled city. Even after this portion of the wall was removed, this area still
serves as a sort of entrance to Old San Juan and the rest of the city. After
1897, the square was a symbol of progress after the demolition of Puerta de San
Juan. It boasts a monument with a towering statue of Christopher Columbus rising
above a fountain. Columbus “discovered” Puerto Rico in 1493, during his second
voyage to the Americas. However, many Puerto Ricans would be quick to point out
that others had discovered it before him. The native people, known as Taínos,
were forced into slavery by the Spanish, and about 30 years after Columbus set
foot on the island, the Taínos had disappeared as an ethnic identification, and
those now claiming Taíno ancestry also have Spanish and/or African ancestry. In
this context, it is easy to understand how some people might not look at the
huge statue with a friendly eye. The square and the statue were dedicated in
1893 in celebration of the fourth century of Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. At
that time, the square, originally called St. James Square, was renamed for
Columbus. It is reported that this is one of the very few standing statues of
Columbus in Latin America and is the tallest of them. The square is paved in
marble and graced by a group of bronze lampposts that date back more than 100
years. Each lamp is held by an oriental odalisque, including characteristic
clothes, turbans, and veils. The statue of Columbus stands regally on top of a
pillar with ships and sea serpents coming out of its base. Bronze plaques on
the base depict his ocean journey, arrival on the island, and meeting with the
indigenous people.
From
there, we went to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.
MT 3:32 PM – San Juan: Church of St. Francis of Assisi –
entrance; banner to left of door indicates it now belongs to the “Frailes
Capuchinos Viejo San Juan” (Capuchin Friars of Old San Juan).
The Church of St. Francis of
Assisi (Spanish: Iglesia San Francisco de Asís), located on Calle San
Francisco, was one of the very first significant architectural works on the
island. With its construction having begun in 1532, it is also one of the
oldest examples of 16th-century Spanish Gothic architecture in the Western
Hemisphere. For a time, it was the burial place of the explorer Juan Ponce de
León. However, the church in its current form was built in 1876. The Plaza de
Salvador Brau is in front of the church’s entrance.
Our guide said that the square in
front of the church encompasses the outline of the original church.
The Plaza Salvador Brau was
originally occupied by the Church of St. Francis (inaugurated in 1653 and
demolished in 1917) and later by the Academia Católica (which ceased functions
in 1964). Salvador Brau was a distinguished autonomist, journalist, and writer.
He was also the official historian of Puerto Rico from 1908 until his death in
1912. During the remodeling of the square in 2000. The pavement was marked with
the location of the distinct sections of the church of St. Francis.
MT 3:33 PM – San Juan: Church of St. Francis of Assisi – a
monk (Capuchin) in square where the original church was (telephoto 99 mm).
Next,
the tour group went to Plaza de Armas.
MT 3:39 PM – San Juan: Plaza de Armas - fountain with “Four
Seasons” statues; Department of State building in background (telephoto 90 mm).
The Plaza de Armas is one of
the main squares of San Juan. It is located on Calle San José in Old San Juan
and was designed to serve as the original main square of the city. The City
Hall is located on the north side of the square, and the Puerto Rico Department
of State is on the west side. The square’s main feature is a round fountain
with four marble statues representing “The Four Seasons,” which were commissioned
in 1856 and originally placed on the four corners of the square.
MT 3:42 PM – San Juan: Plaza de Armas - fountain with “Four
Seasons” statues from another angle; Department of State building in background
left.
MT 3:42 PM – San Juan: Plaza de Armas – “PARE” (STOP) sign;
Department of State building in background left.
MT 3:45 PM – San Juan: Calle Fortaleza near Plaza de Armas
– Restaurant Barrachina.
Restaurant Barrachina, located in a
colonial building over two centuries old at Calle Fortaleza 104, is the birthplace
of the world-famous piña colada, first made in 1963.
MT 3:45 PM – San Juan: Calle Fortaleza near Plaza de Armas
– Restaurant Barrachina – sign, in Spanish and English for “The House Where in
1963 the Piña Colada Was Created by Don Ramon Portas Mingot” (mild telephoto 57
mm).
MT 3:46 PM – San Juan: Calle Fortaleza – view from Calle
del Cristo to west on Calle Fortaleza, covered with large flag of Puerto Rico;
at far end of street is the governor’s mansion, La Fortaleza (mild telephoto 67
mm).
From
there, the tour group went north on Calle del Cristo to the Cathedral.
We were not able to go inside, since a wedding was taking place. (On Sunday,
Dec 1, after returning to San Juan, we were able to attend mass in the
Cathedral.)
MT 3:49 PM – San Juan: Cathedral – façade; our guide, with
red paddle for “Viking Sea 28” tour group on front steps (lower right).
San Juan: Cathedral –
façade and front entrance (By https://www.flickr.com/people/oquendo/ -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oquendo/3687484788/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15687347).
The Catedral Metropolitana
Basílica de San Juan Bautista (Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of St. John
the Baptist), located on Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square) [other sources
say it faced Plazuela de las Monjas] in Old San Juan, is one of the oldest buildings
in San Juan, the oldest cathedral in the United States, and the second oldest
in the Americas. (Even though the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo
Domingo in the Dominical Republic is an older church building, the Cathedral of
San Juan Bautista was the first cathedral church in the Americas, since San
Juan, then known as the city of Puerto Rico, was the first diocese of the New
World, created in 1511.) The original cathedral in San Juan, constructed with
wooden walls and a thatched roof in 1521, was destroyed by a hurricane in 1526.
The current structure was built starting in 1540 and Lack of funds, as well as
a variety of disasters, meant that progress on the church was slow. Over time,
it grew into a Gothic-styled stone structure. It was reshaped in later
centuries; the façade was added in the 1800s, and the last extensive
restoration was in 1917. The cathedral contains the tomb of the Spanish
explorer and settlement founder Juan Ponce de León, the first governor of
Puerto Rico. (Originally, he was buried up the street at the Iglesia de San
José. But he was moved to the Cathedral in 1908 and placed in the white marble
tomb seen today near the church’s transept.
A short walk from the San Juan Gate
along Caleta de las Monjas (Little Street of the Nuns), the Cathedral was the
first stop for many travelers who landed on the island and walked into the city
through its only seaside entry. Sailors and travelers visited the Cathedral as
soon as they got off the boat in order to thank God for a safe voyage.
MT 3:50 PM – San Juan: Cathedral – view through main
entrance from rear of central nave to main altar in apse (mild telephoto 42
mm).
On
the northwest corner of Plaza de la Catedral, we saw a large building that said
“El Convento” over the main entrance (and also above a smaller door
around the corner to the right on Calle del Cristo) and “Hotel” over a smaller
door to the left. Since it was only a hotel, we did not take a photo, but later
found out its history as an actual convent.
San Juan: Hotel El
Convento – façade of chapel on Caleta de las Monjas (By Daderot -
Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17170498).
The Hotel El Convento,
located at the address Calle del Cristo 100, adjoining the Plaza de la Catedral
(Cathedral Square) just across from the Cathedral. According to the hotel’s
website, it was built in 1646 and is the oldest member of the Historic Hotels
of America. The hotel opened in 1962 in an old convent.
The Monasterio del Señor San José
de la Orden de nuestra Señora del Carmen (Convent of the Lord St. Joseph of the
Order of Our Lady of Carmel) was founded in 1651 by a wealthy widow who donated
her money and her magnificent residence in the street that is now known as
Caleta de las Monjas (Little Street of the Nuns). In 1646, construction began
on the Carmelite convent. The building was reconstructed and expanded in
1854-61 after the original building was torn down. Certain elements stood out, including
the pair of Tuscan columns that flank the entrance in the façade of the chapel,
the two towers, and the latticed choir arch. The frieze above the main door of
the chapel was interrupted for an inscription that was never placed there, but
it now has a sign for “El Convento.” The building was closed from 1903 to 1959
and then sold. During its conversion to the El Convento Hotel, which opened in
1962, the two towers were removed, as was the cross that would immediately have
identified the chapel as a church. In the 1990s, it was renovated again and
rechristened as Hotel El Convento, a 4-star small luxury hotel with five
stories and a central courtyard.
From
the Cathedral, our guide took us southwest on Calle de San Juan to San Juan
Gate.
MT 3:54 PM – San Juan: our guide, with red paddle for
“Viking Sea 28” tour group, leading us to the land side of San Juan Gate.
San Juan: red San Juan
Gate in city wall that is 42 ft (12.8 m) high at this point; La Fortaleza in
background right (By Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) - Own work, CC BY-SA
4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81591499).
The San Juan Gate (Spanish:
Puerta de San Juan), also known as Puerta de Aguas (Gate of the Waters), just
north of La Fortaleza (the Governor’s Mansion), is one of the three remaining
gates into the walled city. This tunnel through the western section of the wall
dates from around 1635 and shows how thick the walls are. The opening in the
gate is 16 ft tall and 20 ft thick. For those arriving by sea, the lofty red
portal was the main gate into the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. Spanish
ships once anchored in the cove just off these ramparts to unload colonists and
supplies. (However, a sign by the inside of the gate says: “This gate was San
Juan’s formal or symbolic entrance. Materials, supplies, and everyday traffic
entered through other gates.” And “For centuries Spanish dignitaries entered
San Juan through this gate, called the San Juan Gate. From here they proceeded
up the street behind you [Caleta de San Juan] to the San Juan Cathedral to thank
God for a safe voyage.”)
On the outside of the gate is the
inscription “Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini” (Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord), which comes from the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy), a Latin
hymn from the liturgy of the Catholic mass.
MT 3:55 PM – San Juan: San Juan Gate – Latin inscription
“Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini” above portal on sea side of gate (mild
telephoto 52 mm).
MT 3:56 PM – San Juan: view, from outside city wall near
San Juan Gate, of “La Rogativa” statue we had seen in the morning (telephoto 82
mm).
MT 3:56 PM – San Juan: view, from outside city wall near
San Juan Gate, of sentry box on wall and Paseo de la Princesa promenade along
the coastline (telephoto 82 mm).
The Paseo de la Princesa (Walkway
of the Princess) , which approaches the San Juan Gate from the east, dates back
to 1853. It is located just outside the city wall along the south side of Old
San Juan. The tree-lined promenade passes La Princesa, a historic landmark
dating from 1837 that once served as a prison and today houses the headquarters
of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.
The Paseo del Morro, also
built in 1853, is basically a continuation of the Paseo de la Princesa,
bending toward the northwest. This part of the promenade leads from the San
Juan Gate toward the entrance of San Juan Bay, following the contours of the
city wall and leading to a dead end directly beneath the imposing Fort San
Felipe del Morro. It was originally used as a service road for the western
section of the city wall, and in 1998 it was restored and opened to the general
public.
MT 3:57 PM – San Juan: front view, from outside city wall
near San Juan Gate, of La Fortaleza behind and above the wall (telephoto 121
mm).
San Juan: La Fortaleza
from San Juan Harbor (By Jano Ťažký - http://nemcok.sk/?pic=25095, CC BY-SA
3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11137388).
La Fortaleza (meaning “The
Fortress”) has been the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico since
1544, making it the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the New
World. It was built in 1533-40 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The fortress
underwent a massive reconstruction in 1846, to change its military appearance
into a palatial façade.
The structure is also known as
Palacio de Santa Catalina (Palace of St. Catherine).The alternate name stems
from the fact that, during the reconstruction in 1640, the Chapel of Santa
Catalina, which originally existed outside the walls, was demolished and was
integrated into the walls of the structure.
San Juan: 1671 engraving
of “Porto Rico” with La Fortaleza by harbor in foreground, from De Nieuwe en
Onbekende Weereld (Dutch for: The New and Unknown World), by Arnoldus
Montanus (1625-1683) (By Arnoldus Montanus -
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?54688, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27097349).
San Juan: front view of La
Fortaleza (By Xemenendura - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22495018).
La Fortaleza was the first
defensive fortification built for the city of San Juan. Its construction was
authorized by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, as a defense against attacks from the
Carib Indians (indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, which
owes its name to them) and the European powers of the time. Initially, the
structure consisted of four walls enclosing an interior patio with a circular
tower known as the Homage Tower (Spanish: Torre del Homenaje, which still
stands . From the top of the tower, the governor, following military tradition,
would take oaths of fidelity to the King and Queen of Spain.
At present, the complex consists of
a few attached buildings with formal living quarters on the second floor and
private quarters on the third. It overlooks the high city walls that front the
bay.
MT 3:58 PM – San Juan: ficus tree with roots around outside
of trunk, near San Juan Gate on Paseo de la Princesa outside city wall near San
Juan Gate (mild telephoto 55 mm).
Going
back inside the city wall through San Juan Gate, the tour group then headed
eastward on Calle Tetuán to the Church of St. Ann.
MT 4:05 PM – San Juan: Plaza de Armas - fountain with “Four
Seasons” statues; City Hall building in background left.
MT 4:09 PM – San Juan: Church of St. Ann – façade.
The Church of St. Ann
(Spanish: Iglesia Santa Ana) , at Calle Tetuán 203, is a traditional Roman
Catholic parish run by priests of Una Voce Puerto Rico (an organization that
aims to safeguard the rich liturgical heritage of the Roman Catholic Church by
promoting the use of Latin, Gregorian chanting and sacred polyphony).
Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated on Sundays.
It is one of the oldest churches in
the New World. At the end of the 16th century there was here a hermitage of
wood, which between 1763 and 1776 was reconstructed with masonry. The current
façade dates mainly from a reconstruction carried out in 1848.
MT 4:09 PM – San Juan: Church of St. Ann – central portion
of façade.
As
the tour group neared our ship again, we saw the statue “Al Inmigrante.”
MT 4:12 PM – San Juan: statue “Al Inmigrante” (To the
Immigrant) (mild telephoto 42 mm).
The original statue “Al Inmigrante”
in the town of Pola de Allande (Spain), by the Catalan sculptor Antonio Prats
Ventós, symbolizes the ties that link Allande with its emigrants. The statue
reproduces the image of a man with his arms at rest and reminds of emigrants
who left without luggage for the American continent. There are two identical
replicas in main squares of the cities of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
and San Juan (Puerto Rico).
From
there, we headed back toward the Viking Sea.
MT 4:14 PM – San Juan: rainbow-colored arches near entrance
to cruise ship terminal (mild telephoto 69 mm).
Also
near the entrance to the cruise ship terminal was La Casita de Rones.
MT 4:20 PM – San Juan: La Casita de Rones.
San Juan: La Casita de
Rones in 2015, when it was previously painted yellow (By User:Mattes -
Self-photographed, CC BY 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49348487).
La Casita de Rones (Little House of
Rums), located on Calle Comercio at Plaza Darsenas, is a building constructed
in 1937 for the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Today, it is an
information center of the Compañia de Turismo (Company of Tourism). The
building also houses two bars, a restaurant, and a shop. In 2016, the shop
officially opened as the flagship store of Rums of Puerto Rico, the island’s
agency for promoting its rum products. The shop is a joint initiative of Puerto
Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Trade and the island’s Industrial
Development Company.
We
got back to the Viking Sea at 4:30 pm, on time for the scheduled Guest
Emergency Drill at 5 pm.
MT 5:47 PM – San Juan: Don with his islander shirt
(previously Hawaiian) in our stateroom.
Around
6 pm, the ship sailed toward our next stop at Road Town, Tortola (121 nautical
miles).
At
6:15 we went to the Port Talk for Road Town, Tortola.
After
the Port Talk, we went to the “Seafood Buffet” in the World Café.
After
the ship had sailed, the sea got rocky, and we had a hard time to stand
in the buffet line. After dinner, MT stopped at the Explorer’s Desk and got
complementary anti-nausea pills.
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