Another piece from my Trip Report. This wasn't an official excursion. It was just an opportunity that presented itself, as soon as we got off the ship.
We go straight from breakfast, to off of the ship. I'm not sure of how busy a port of call San Juan is supposed to be, but we were the only ship out there the whole day. But as we got off, we noticed the lighted traffic board stating "Welcome Disney Fantasy
. To Puerto Rico. We didn't have any excursions planned for the day; so our initial goal was to walk around the area near the ship. There arent too many options when you have a 2 year old in tow. And a simple beach excursion was way too much money. But as we passed the gates, we were greeted by someone from a local tour company, asking if we wanted to do a 1 hour tour for $10 a person. I was a little hesitant; but my wife decided we should just do it. Part of his quick pitch noted that we would be in an air conditioned bus/van. So that's what really hooked us. It wasn't just us on there, but a few other families as well. So off we go on a tour of San Juan!!!
IMG_1335 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
I should start by saying that San Juan isn't just all about tourists. At the very beginning of our tour, we drove past quite a few rundown areas. There were abandoned buildings, as well as quite a bit of graffiti (some pretty interesting "art" though) around. We start to see some familiar sights (McDonald's), and have a 'what the ....?' moment (the gas prices showed $.95 and $1... but that was per liter... Multiply that by 3 or 4, and you get the gallon rate). We then approached a really nice marina, and saw where the really nice hotels were located. It was in this area where we started the started to circle back to where we started. But this is where the tour truly began.
IMG_1343 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
We saw the sight of the 1979 Pan American games. We passed a great viewpoint of Puerto Ricos beautiful waters. We drove past their Capital building; that houses the original Constitution of Puerto Rico. We passed by the Castillo de San Cristóbal; the largest fort in the Americas. But it was on the opposite side of the Capital building where our adventure took an unexpected turn.
IMG_1362 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
Our tour stopped for a bit, to let people get out and observe the Walkway of the Presidents. There are statues of about 6 U.S. Presidents; with a plaque behind each of them, giving a brief description of their time in office. In this area, there are also a couple of other memorials; one of which represents the Holocaust. My wife is quite fascinated with any of the Holocaust Memorials we come across; so she took her time to read some of the plaques. When we finally emerged from this area (I should note that it was a little out of view from our bus) we realized that we had been left behind. We immediately wondered how in the world we would get back. But one of the first things on my mind was that our stroller was still on that bus!!!
We were walking around here before getting left behind.
IMG_1390 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
Luckily for us, there were 2 other buses from that tour company that were also stopped there. So we had the opportunity to finish our tour. But in fact, we were just beginning a new one. One would assume that all of the tour buses take the same exact route. But that was not the case. As chance would have it, this new guide had began his tour at Presidents Row. So after leaving there, we passed the same rundown area.... the same McDonald's.... the same 'what the----???' gas station... the same fancy resorts. And again, we saw The Pan American games stadium.
But instead of driving right past the great viewpoint of the water, we actually had a chance to get out and snap a couple of pics. We also stopped at the Capital building for a restroom break; and were able to look around inside of there for a bit. We not only saw the original Constitution of Puerto Rico; but we got a chance to see the beautifully done underside of the domed ceiling. This amazing piece of art was completely composed of small tiles, and took less than 3 years to complete. Directly across from this building was a statue of John the Baptist, with the lovely backdrop of the blue/green waters behind him. From there, we headed over to the fort you see as youre entering the San Juan Bay; El Morro. We only stopped to get out for a few minutes; so we weren't able to get too close to the fort itself. There was quite a long walkway leading up to it. So besides the ride back to the ship, this concluded the main part of the tour. All in all, everything worked out for us. We ended up with a great tour guide (Javier Lomba... Highly recommended!!!); and we got to see a bit of San Juan, and learn a little of its history. And in the end, we got our stroller back!!!!! They also didn't take the payment until the end of the tour. So it was nice to hand our money over to the guy that didn't leave us behind. We also gave him a nice tip, because he was so good. I'm also not sure if they were charging for toddlers or not; but we paid for our 2 year old daughter anyway..... Or at least gave him a REALLY nice tip.
Also, the name of that tour company is San Juan Happy Tours. And I have Javiers business card, in case anyone would like his contact info.
The Constitution is right on the other side of those ropes
IMG_1418 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
That beautiful ceiling
.
IMG_1402 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
Leaving the Capital building. I wish I had more time in this area to do some shooting; especially right near that statue of John the Baptist.
IMG_1419 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
El Morro
.
IMG_1436 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
One of my favorite pictures from the entire cruise (and currently my desktop picture). And there was a nice breeze over here. We try to keep her hair a little more under control than THAT.
IMG_1433 by
Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr
My Flickr Pictures!!!!!!!