June 12th, 2010 -- San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Our second day in Puerto Rico we resolved to go to the biggest, most famous fort in Puerto Rico -- El Morro.

 

Though the fort was close to our hotel, we decided to ride the trolley because of the heat. We ended up walking further than we needed to get to the trolley stop, but as a bonus we found a trail to a beach and the capitol building.

I can't imagine how the politicians and officials can concentrate with such beauty outside.

The fort was begun in 1539 but it was modified and expanded many times over the centuries. In 1987 it became a UN World Heritage Site. Here's the approach to El Morro:

The walk up to the fort reminded me of some movie set in medieval times where royalty carrying parasols strolled the expansive ground outside the castle.

Was it Ever After? Maybe.

Ironically, the field in front of the fort is now a favorite for flying kites.

The lines and textures of the fort are excellent for picture-taking, but we didn't really have time for me to wax artistic.

Despite being a UN World Heritage Site, the fort was still grafittied by visitors, but I think it has it's own beauty in a way.

The fort's current residents? Only lizards, I think. Though some have said there are ghosts there.

After the fort we explored Old San Juan more and found a small square where tables of old men were playing dominoes. Judging from their expressions, these four were playing an intense game. Dominoes seems to be popular in Latin countries, kind of like chess in New York?

 

 Here are some pictures of views I found striking in Old San Juan. The aged Spanish-influenced architecture and bright colors are a photographer's dream.

A little bit of old and new.

 In Old San Juan, the street system is as follows: streets run East-West and smaller alleys run North-South. The signs for streets (calles) and alleys (callejones) are tiles mounted on buildings, not the metal stand-alone signs standard in many modern cities.

Actually, Ayaka and I learned the word  callejon after I asked a local who didn't speak English for directions to Cafe Nuyorican. He kept telling us to go left at the callejon, and having no idea what that was, I imagined it was the fountain in the main square. It pays to be observant and read the signs (as my high school history teacher said) where you travel, because each callejon was clearly labeled "callejon

such-and-such." Ah well, the struggle to communicate was one of the most interesting things for me about being in Puerto Rico.

I found this sign very romantic, being the "Street of the Moon" and even being decorated with an image of a moon. One could imagine meeting one's lover at the corner of Calle De La Luna late one evening...

But we had no such late evening that night because we were driving to Utuado in central Puerto Rico early the next morning.