As soon as we were away from the hubbub of the streets surrounding the piers we fell in love with San Juan. The old city is beautiful. We walked along wide boulevards with lush plantings and loved the buildings and the massive walls. When we passed the Ministry of Tourism I went in and got copies of a terrific map. The map led us to a wonderful walk – the old city walls on our right and the ocean on our left. We re-entered the city through the last of its original gates and walked toward El Morro (one of two massive forts run by the park service). After a stop at the Art School’s café for a dose of caffeine we headed toward the fort. Mother nature helped set the scene by providing a full rainbow over the fort right on cue. Add to that the superb interpretive displays and careful restoration done by the National Park Service and you have a winner. We then walked back through street after street of colorfully painted buildings pointing out the architectural details to each other. We stopped at a park with a fountain to briefly rest and then all separated to do our own thing. Harry stayed in the park for coffee and some sketching. Marsha got a coffee to go and continued to wander the streets. Linda and Dan did the same without the coffee and in another direction. We all returned to the ship wanting to return to San Juan some day.
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Harry Forsdick &
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