1 Dec 19 San Juan, Puerto Rico to Home

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.

The Viking Daily newsletter gave the weather forecast as “PM Showers 84°F / 29°C” with “Sunrise: 6:39 AM.”

The Viking Cruise Documents entry for this day gave the following information about Puerto Rico and San Juan:

“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 roiling 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.”

NOTE: For more information on Puerto Rico and San Juan, see the post for November 22 in this blog.

We woke at 5:30 am, and room service breakfast came at 6:15.

Sunday, December 1 6:02 AM – San Juan: port and Cruise Terminal, still in the dark.

7:30 AM – San Juan: port and Cruise Terminal, in daylight.

Instructions in the Viking Daily newsletter said all passengers had to vacate our staterooms by 8 am.

As part of departure group “Green 4,” we met in the ship’s Atrium at 8:45 for disembarkation. From there, our group would go to the Luggage Area in the Cruise Terminal, where we would locate our checked baggage, to which we had attached a green-colored “GREEN 4” tag before placing it in the Deck 3 hallway the previous night. Once we had checked through US Customs, the tagged checked baggage would be taken by truck to the airport. Since our flight was not scheduled until 3:06 pm (according to Viking instructions), we were invited to walk to the nearby Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, for a comfortable wait in a hospitality room on the second floor, with some beverages and snacks.

7:30 AM – San Juan: we would walk from the Cruise Terminal (with “Welcome” sign and Puerto Rican flag on roof) to the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel (see red box, with the 2-story Señor Frog restaurant covering part of it).

Friday, November 22 6:07 PM (Cropped) – San Juan: Cruise Terminal (at lower left), 2-story Señor Frog restaurant on Calle Marina, 1-story Walgreens on corner to right of Señor Frog), and taller Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel (around corner on Calle Brumbaugh behind Señor Frog).

Since this was Sunday, we decided to try to find a Catholic church where we could go to Mass. Several people on the street gave us directions to the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. During our “Historic Old San Juan by Foot” shore excursion on November 22, we had gone to the Cathedral but could not go inside because a wedding was underway there.

9490bb Viking map of Old San Juan; we had walked from where our ship was docked in the Cruise Port (actually at blue circle rather that at number 1) to the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel (at red circle) on the waterfront and from there would walk to the Cathedral (number 14, in green circle).

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) is located on Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square), also known as Plazuela de las Monjas (Little Square of the Nuns), in Old San Juan. It 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.

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.

When we got to the Cathedral, the Mass had apparently started at 9:00 am, and a lector was doing the Second Reading. We participated in the rest of the Mass. We noted that the celebrating priest used some English in his homily.

After the Mass, we took some photos of the interior.

10:09 AM – San Juan: Cathedral – view, from rear of central nave to apse with main altar.

10:07 AM – San Juan: Cathedral – view, from middle of central nave to apse and dome above the crossing.

10:08 AM – San Juan: Cathedral – shrine of Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago baptismal font by on side of left nave (unfortunately not quite focused).

San Juan: Cathedral – shrine with relics of Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago (By Daderot - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17159649).

The Cathedral has a shrine to the blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago (1918-1963), the first Puerto Rican and the first Caribbean-born layperson in history to be beatified. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001.

The cathedral also contains the tomb of the Spanish explorer, conquistador, and settlement founder Juan Ponce de León (1474-1521), the first governor of Puerto Rico. He is perhaps better known for leading the first known European expedition to Florida. (Though in popular culture he supposedly discovered Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth, there is no evidence to support this story, which all modern historians call a myth.) On his second and last voyage to Florida in 1521, he was mortally wounded by a poison arrow and was taken to Havana, Cuba, where he soon died of his wounds. Originally, he was buried in Havana but was moved in 1559 to the Iglesia de San José, just three blocks north of the Cathedral in San Juan. But his remains were moved to the Cathedral in 1836 and in 1908 were placed in the white marble tomb seen today on the church’s left side near the transept.

San Juan: Cathedral - Tomb of Juan Ponce de León (By Daderot - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17159677).

On top of the tomb is a beautiful marble relief sculpture of a lady in flowing robes with a sword on her right hip, She is bending over and kissing what looks like a coffin on top of a pedestal. Her left hand is wrapped around a vertically held flag. Below the figure is the following Spanish inscription:

“I. N. D.
BAJO EL PONTIFICADO DE SU SANTIDAD PIO X Y OCUPANDO LA SEDE EPISCOPAL DE PUERTO RICO
MONSENOR GUILLERMO JONES,
SE TRASLADARON À ÈSTA INGLES CATEDRAL, DESDE LA CONVENTUAL DE STO. TOMAS DE AQUINO (HOY DE SAN JOSÈ)
DONDE SE HALLABAN DEPOSITADOS DESDE 1559, LOS DESPOJOS MORTALES DE
JUAN PONCE DE LEON
(NATURAL DE LA TIERRA DE CAMPOS) DE CUYO LINAJE HILDAGO FUERON LIMPIA EJECUTORIA SUS BIZARROS HECHOS.
SOLDADO EN GRANADA, CAPITÀN EN LA ESPAÑOLA, CONQUISTADOR Y GOBERNADOR DE SAN JUAN DEL BORIQUÈN,
DÈSCUBRIDOR Y PRIMER ADELANTADO DE LA FLORIDA, MÌLITE VALEROSO, DIESTRO CAUDILLO VASALLO LEAL,
PROBO ADMINISTRADOR PADRE AMANTÌSIMO Y COLONO LABORIOSO Y CONSECUENTE, RINDIÒ EL ALMA À DIOS Y EL CUERPO A LA TIERRA EN LA HABANA (JUNIO DE 1521)
À SU MEMORIA VENERANDA Y EN HONOR À LA CIVILIZATIÒN CHRISTIANA POR SU IMPULSO INTRODUCIDA,
POR SU BRAVURA CIMENTADA, Y POR SU DILIGENTE COOPERACIÒN DIFUNDIDA
EN ÈSTA FECUNDA TIERRA PORTORRIQUENA, CONSAGRA PIADOSO HOMENAJE,
EL CASINO ESPAÑOL DE SAN JUAN.
A. D. 1909”

A rough English translation is: “I.N.D. [for Latin "In Nomine Domini" in the name of the Lord] During the pontificate of His Holiness Pius X and [with] Monsignor William Jones occupying the Episcopal See of Puerto Rico, the mortal remains of Juan Ponce de León (native of Tierra de Campos*) were transferred from the convent church of St. Thomas Aquinas (today San José), where they had been deposited since 1559, to this English cathedral. His noble lineage was pure and executed his gallant deeds: soldier in Grenada, Spanish captain, conqueror and governor of San Juan del Boriquén [sic!**], discoverer and first provincial governor of Florida, valorous soldier, skillful loyal vassal leader, honest administrator[,] loving father, and arduous and consistent settler. His soul was rendered to God and his body to the earth in Havana (June 1521). To his venerated memory and in honor of the Christian civility introduced by his impetus, for his founded bravery and for his widespread diligent cooperation, in this fertile Puerto Rican earth, dedicates in pious homage, the Spanish Club of San Juan. A.D. 1909.”
* He was born in the village of Santervás, Spain; thus he was a native of the Tierra de Campos (Land of Campos).

** Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinquén--a derivation of  Borikén, its indigenous Taíno name , which means “Land of the Valiant Lord.”
Below that inscription are a carved garland and the tomb. At the top of the tomb is the Latin inscription:

“MOLE SUB HAC FORTIS REQUIESCUNT OSSA LEONIS

QUI VIVIT FACTIS NOMINA MAGNA SUIS.”

A rough English translation is:

“Under this strong tomb softly rest the bones of León

who by his deeds made his great name.”

We noticed that the priest was still greeting some people at the back of the church. When we greeted him, MT asked about his English. He said that he grew up in Virginia, although his father was from Puerto Rico.

On the way back to the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, we passed some of the places we had seen on the November 22 walking tour. From the Cathedral, we first headed south on Calle del Christo (Street of Christ). As we crossed the east-west Calle Fortaleza (Fortress Street), we again saw the large flag of Puerto Rico hung above that street, but with an added attraction.

10:12 AM – San Juan: Calle Fortaleza with person in frog costume under giant Puerto Rican flag.

MT 10:06 AM – San Juan: Calle Fortaleza - Don with person in frog costume under giant Puerto Rican flag (mild telephoto 37 mm).

Continuing south on Calle del Cristo, we again found what looked like an archway, but which we had later learned was the Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud (Chapel of Christ the Savior).

10:14 AM – San Juan: Capilla del Santo Christo de la Salud, partly repainted.

San Juan: Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud in 2011 (before repainting began) – 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 the cobbled 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 (dry masonry [literally ordinary masonry]), stones carefully placed on top of each other leaving the least amount of gaps, with the few empty spaces filled with very small stones or a minimum of mortar or 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.

10:14 AM – San Juan: closer view of Capilla del Santo Christo de la Salud, partly repainted.

10:14 AM – San Juan: sign, posted by the Lions Club, for “Capilla del Santo Christo de la Salud / Chapel of Christ the Savior” with text in Spanish and English; the English reads:

“Built in 1753-1780 on top of the city walls. Legend traces its origin to a miraculous happening at the site.”

Then we turned eastward, toward the hotel on a major street.

 10:21 AM – San Juan: MT passing sculpted palm tree on side of building (mild telephoto 56 mm).

When we got back to the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, we shared a table with other passengers and somehow got into a long conversation in which we explained about the Camino de Santiago (which we had done three times). One man in particular seemed quite interested. He said we would do it but didn’t know anyone who would go with him and didn’t want to go alone. Later, Don mentioned to MT what we had talked about doing another Camino in 2021, and she found the man and exchanged email addresses.

At 11 am, our group left the Sheraton by bus to the airport, where we had a flight scheduled for 2:21 pm.

We had a stop in Charlotte, North Carolina with a connecting flight scheduled for 7:55 pm. However, that flight was delayed a long time waiting for the crew to come in on another flight (we heard that flights on the east coast were being cancelled due to bad weather) and they had to come over from another terminal. It must have been at least 9 pm when we actually departed.

At KCI airport in Kansas City, the shuttle we had reserved picked us up, and we arrived home in Leavenworth around midnight.