Bienvenidos a Puerto Rico!

Hola mi amigas y amigos! Dave and I arrived in San Juan, PR on Sunday. We were so fortunate so props go out to Continental Airlines for accomodating us! We were due to check in on line on Saturday. The email notification said that our flights were delayed and we were expected into San Juan after 11:00 pm on Sunday! Dave phoned the airlines and asked them since they had changed the flights on us; could they possibly get us out on an earlier flight and they did! We flew out on Sunday am and arrived at 4:30 pm so we had the entire afternoon and evening. Additionally; we were originally supposed to leave on Friday at 9:00 am. Our return flight now departs San Juan at 5:00 pm so we practically have a day added to our itinerary!

We are staying at the Embassy Suites San Juan Hotel & Casino just minutes from the airport. We decided to stay at this hotel in that we have a daily hot breakfast and a manager's cocktail reception in the evenings; you can't beat it with a stick. The hotel staff allows guests to check out beach chairs and take them to the beach. After unpacking we walked the hotel and pool area and then took a nice evening stroll on the beach; just about 2 - 3 blocks from our hotel. It's really not the prettiest of neighborhoods to walk to nor is the beach itself all that glamorous but we are expecting to see nicer; cleaner beaches during our stay. We snuck in a quick burger and made our way back for the evening manager's cocktail reception.

Today we decided to spend the day in Old San Juan. We were told the best financial bet was to take the city bus into town. Not a bad deal for a mere seventy-five cents each! We managed to board the fast bus and arrived into town about 35 minutes later.

We walked the streets of OSJ and made our way over to the Museo Pablo Casals only to find it closed! The museum is dedicated to the people of Puerto Rico and the museum memorabilia is left by the musician Pablo Casals. The maestro's cello is there, along with a library of videotapes (which can be played upon request) of some of his festival concerts. The small 18th-century house also contains manuscripts and photographs of Casals. We were so disappointed not to see it but we plan on returning to OSJ on Friday to catch up on lost opportunities. We then made our way over to the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena only to find it too was closed and then learned minutes later that all the museums are closed on Mondays. Drat!

Instead we walked to El Morro or Fort San Felipe del Morro; a National Park located on a point jutting out into the San Juan Harbor. It was really named for King Phillip II of Spain. It was begun in 1540 and completed in 1589. We started our trek beginning at the Cementerio Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis; it is a colonial-era cemetery and was constructed in 1863. It sits outside the walls of the fortress and is one of the island's most famous landmarks. After viewing all the historic grave markers and tombs we walked through the fort taking in the ocean views.

After all our touring and walking and walking and touring throughout the city we found ourselves hungry for lunch and settled in at the Old Harbor Brewery. Dave enjoyed a couple of the local brews.

After lunch we took a ferry over to the Bacardi Rum plant. This plant in Puerto Rico is the largest rum distillery in the world. This location processes 100,000 gallons daily. The tour itself was pretty weak. It's mostly video and there's a tram that drives you around showing you the outside of the plant. The best part is the two free drinks you get. Skip the gift shop...keep your memories of the tour. For you Bacardi rum drinkers...do you know the history of the bat as the official logo? The Bacardi bat is a symbol of good fortune. The abundance of bats on the ceilings of old and dark distilleries is what inspired the Bacardi bat logo.

After the tour we went back into OSJ and did a little bit of shopping. I was told while in OSJ we absolutely had to stop at the Hotel El Convento; an historic hotel belonging to the Small Luxury Hotels brand. The property has but just 58 guestrooms and was a Carmalite convent 365 years ago. We were told to have a drink out on the patio. So we made our way to the hotel out to the patio when SPLASH! A tropical rain dropped down upon us. We sat under the eaves with a very nice group of "cruisers"; folks who had docked in San Juan and had roughly six hours or so to enjoy the city. We sat and chatted with them and enjoyed our drinks. One of the women in the group gave us a dining recommendation and from the hotel we walked over to Restaurante Raices for an authenic Puerto Rican diner. It was delicious! (Muy delicioso). The waiting line was over an hour but because we were willing to dine at the bar; we were seated immediately. The waitresses and waiters are dressed in traditional Puerto Rican garb; what they would wear if performing Puerto Rican dance. The "especialidades de la casa" were a selection of mufango. Mufango is mashed plantain stuffed with meat or veggies. I had the shrimp and Dave had the pork. If you've never tried it; it's a must and very tasty.

After dinner we took a cab back (roughly twenty-one dollars vs our bus fare of seventy-five cents earlier) and decided to call it a night.

Tomorrow is our golf day so check back with us to hear about our round! Pin It Now!