Our plans changed a bit as a dinner tour we had scheduled for tonight is now postponed until Friday due to low attendance. Kate and I decided to head to Old San Juan and look at Castillo de San Felipe del Morro (El Morro). It's a fortress of watchtowers, moats, dungeons, weapons, ramps and barracks. It rises 140 feet above the sea and has six levels. El Morro was built in 1540 and improvements continued until 1787. It overlooks the entrance to San Juan Bay and was built to protect themselves against
the British and the Dutch back in the day
. El Morro was VERY cool, but man, was it warm today! It was around 87, but it definitely felt warmer. So if my skin looks dewey in the photos, that is why.
After spending some time at El Morro, we took the free trolley near our parking lot and ate lunch at Senor Frog's. Neither of us has been to one, so we thought it might be fun to go. We have been pretty lucky in that we haven't experienced heavy crowds. Yesterday, the towel boy told Kate that most tourists come here at the end of October, when they know hurricane season will be done. Apparently, we could still get one, but we're feeling pretty good about that not happening.
Everyone has been so nice and very willing to talk to us about Puerto Rico. Eduardo is a nice cabana boy that Kate and I met yesterday. I spoke with him a bit today, and he said he is from Puerto Rico, but moved to Gainsville, Florida for 4 years. I asked him where he learned to speak English so well, and he said in Florida. I'm hearing that English is taught in the schools, but people really seem to grasp it when they move to the states. He also said that turtles come onto the beach at night, especially when there is a full moon, to bury their eggs in the sand. The turtles are huge, and sometimes there are several. Kate and I thought we might find some tonight after dinner, but realized we might need a flashlight, so we are going to try again tomorrow. I think turtles are kind of ugly and scary, but I'm pretty sure I could outrun one if I had to.
We ate at Richie's Cafe this evening, which is near our resort. We shared plantain stuffed with shrimp and crab with a side of creole sauce, and both of us ordered the stuffed grouper as entrees. It was absolutely fantastic! But, I would expect the seafood here to be decent.
Tomorrow we are taking a puddle jumper to the island of Culebra. Culebra is home to Playa Flamenco, often named one of the top 10 beaches in the world for it's powder white sand and unspoiled landscape. In fact, most of the island is unspoiled. Eduardo told me it's HOT on the island. He said, "you will burn, take lots of sunscreen."
Hasta manana!
Jamie
PS. Go Brewers!!
El Morro is El Cool-o
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
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