Castillo San Cristobal and El Morro

I spent my morning and afternoon exploring the forts in Old San Juan. Both are very rich in history and the architecture is amazing.

The bulk of my time and was spent at Castillo San Cristobal. The grounds are beautifully kept and there seemed to be more spaces to explore. Although I didn't have a flashlight, some of the barracks and the underground tunnel were lit. It was very impressive to see this huge fortress that was built in 1783. The dungeon walls had original drawings from the prisoners kept there. I couldn't imagine being held captive in such a space. Another highlight was seeing the close sleeping quarters of the soldiers stationed here. The beds were lined up literally touching each other. Original uniforms hung and it gave you a sense of what it would have been like to live there.

El Morro, seemed to be the more popular spot for tourists to visit. Construction began in 1539. They withstood many battles at that fort including a more famous one from Sir Francis Drake of England. This fort had many levels to it, but during my visit the lower levels were closed off for restoration so I was only able to explore a few of them. All pictures posted are from El Morro.

After trekking through both forts I did meander through Old San Juan. The streets are cobble stone and close together. In some ways it reminded me of being in Barcelona. Nothing is posted in English and after some guessing I was able to navigate around. I made it through the Old San Juan Cathedral before I discover a great little bar were I was finally able to try some authentic Puerto Rican food. I had Mofongo Relleno de Pollo. This dish is made similar to a chile relleno; mashed plantains stuffed with chicken. It was absolutely delicious and I'll be dragging anyone who visits me there to try it.

Greetings from Puerto Rico!

After 10 hours of travel, I have arrived to a very warm and humid San Juan. Since my arrival I have had more misadventure than I thought possible all courtesy of my hotel!

I'm staying at the Caribe Hilton, in their "villas." It's just a regular hotel room, nothing fancy. I am still trying to figure out what exactly makes it a villa, there are no cabana boys? The grounds at the hotel are beautiful. The pools and the beaches are very clean and inviting. This is my first experience with humidity at this level so jumping into the water has been extremely appealing. Overall I think it will be a nice place to live, however the staff is not as friendly or helpful as I thought they would be for a Hilton.

My misadventures started with a kitchenless room. Not a huge deal however I would like to be able to bring lunch and prepare healthier foods. Let's face it, I am here for the long haul. After attempting to secure a new room I was shot down and told to try again in the morning. Upon waking I found that the door to my room had been pushed open and only the metal bar across the top had prevented entry. YIKES is right my friends! No explanation from my hotel, no apologies. They shrugged it off. When I arrived home from my first day of class I found that my room was left unlocked and open. YIKES AGAIN! No apologies, but I did get an offer to have hotel security come up and survey my room to see if anything was missing. Needless to say tomorrow I will have a new room and if all else fails I will abort ship and find a new hotel. They do have 56 more nights to redeem themselves. Where are Paris and Nicky when you need them?