Exploring Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

One of the ports we were most looking forward to on our Celebrity Reflection cruise was San Juan, Puerto Rico – a place we’ve never been. We docked in Old San Juan from 3pm – 10pm, a bit of an odd time frame, but we decided to make the most of it.

As we slowly pulled into port, we sailed right past Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a 16th century fort built by the Spaniards & taken over by the Americans in the late 1800s. It was a thrill to get this unique sea view of this beautiful fortification & had us excited for our afternoon, which included time to explore the fort known as El Morro. This is the view from our balcony – yet another reason I love balcony cabins!

We pulled into the dock & marveled at the colorful, sprawling old town we could see from the ship – brightly painted buildings, old & new, filled the peninsula. We could also see Castillo de San Cristóbal, the other major Spanish fort in Old San Juan, & added it to our exploring list.

Once off the ship, we weaved our way through the narrow streets of Old San Juan, feeling more like we were in Barcelona or New Orleans than Puerto Rico. Wrought iron balconies soared over head, as we walked down the rainbow streets, each building painted a different primary color or pastel. We strolled past the famous Hotel El Convento & admired what I dubbed “the most charming street I’ve ever seen.” Feral cats roamed freely on the streets, lounging under trees, under benches, under pretty much anything that provided some shade.

Finally, we arrived at El Morro & the fort’s sprawling lawn. The day we visited was a bank holiday & hundreds of families enjoyed their day off of work & school by running around the sprawling grass, flying kites high in the air.

It took about 45 minutes to explore the fort, with plenty of stair climbing & squeezing in tight spaces to see the same vast sea view that a sentry from centuries ago saw as he kept watch in his garitas. Since it is now part of the U.S. National Park Service, there are guided tours on different topics available throughout the day. In addition, they have canon displays several times per week & on holidays you can see historic reenactments. A National Park site also means there is a charge for admission: $3 per adult or $5 per adult for a ticket to explore both forts.

When we were done, we walked along the old city wall to the other fort, San Cristobal. The two forts are separated by about a 20 minute walk, although there’s also a shuttle run by the Park Service that travels between the two. It was a beautify afternoon & the sea breeze was nice & cool, so the walk was a pleasant one.

While not as famous as it’s neighbor El Morro, Castillo de San Cristóbal is actually the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the new world. When it was finished in the late 18th century, it basically wrapped around the entire city of San Juan, protecting it from outside forces. It is also a National Park Service site, with a small entry fee, guided tours & historic reenactments. The fort takes about an hour to explore; we were a bit pressed for time since we were there late in the day & only saw the highlights. One of the best things about this fort is that its vantage point high atop a hill means there are panoramic views of San Juan – & any cruise ships in port!

Soon the daylight was fading & our stomachs were starting to rumble. We headed down the hill from the fort, toward the port area, & admired the endless rows of colorful buildings in the golden lights. We stopped at Toro Salao, a tapas restaurant not far from the port, for some al fresco sangria & tapas. After a quick stop at a bilingual CVS for more sun screen, we walked back to the ship in darkness, admiring her beauty as she lit up the harbor.

We really enjoyed our time in San Juan & came away feeling like we only experienced a small sliver of what Puerto Rico has to offer. We will certainly return one day to hike the rain forests, stroll the white sand beaches & really soak in Puerto Rican culture.