Flying from Vieques Island to San Juan

I left midday from Vieques Island, flying on a Cessna 402C, a little bit bigger than the plane I flew on to the island. I find small planes somewhat scary.  For photos that I took from the air from the plane, go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/puerto–rico–vieques–island/

(Slide Shows, Caribbean, Puerto Rico: “Vieques Island”).

The photos are at the end of the slideshow.

Hotel Condado Plaza Hilton

In San Juan, I stayed at the Condado Plaza Hilton on the Condado Strip overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Hotel Condado Plaza Hilton

Its lobby. The hotel had several nice restaurants and cafes.

Hotel Condado Plaza Hilton

The hotel also had a large casino. I won $11.50!

Hotel Condado Plaza Hilton

Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Hotel Condado Plaza Hilton

The hotel also had three pools, one a salt water one.

Hotel Condado Plaza Hilton

The small beach at the hotel. The sun was shining into my camera and that it is why the photo looks like it was taken at sunset.

The hotel was very nice and at a very good price, but since I spent almost all of my time during the day in Old San Juan, that would have been a better place for me to stay. Taxi rates are set in Puerto Rico. The rate from my hotel to Old San Juan was $15 each way. The second day I was able to share the fare with other hotel guests.

Old San Juan

I had no idea of how beautiful Old San Juan is with its about 400 restored colonial buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries and cobblestoned streets. It is truly a gem. There are also many restaurants and shops in the area and some hotels. But on the negative side, it was very hot and very humid while walking around and energy–sapping.

Old San Juan Food Tour

I took a food tour of Old San Juan. My tour group was made up of other people who were on their own in Puerto Rico plus some passengers from the Disney ship that was in port. We made five food stops, the first one for mallorca bread and locally grown coffee. Both very good.

Old San Juan Food Tour

Our last stop was for pina coladas. The food tour was very enjoyable. I put my photos of it on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/san–juan–food–tour/

(Slide Shows, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, “Old San Juan: Food Tour”).

Old San Juan

There are free trolleys that will take you around San Juan. I took this one with someone I met on the food tour to the forts on top of the hill.

With only one cruise ship in port, it was easy to get a seat on the trolley. However, the next day, there were three huge cruise ships in port and you had to know where to get on one before where most of the cruise passengers were waiting. The second trolley I got on was just a single enclosed cable car–type of trolley and I was squished on it. I got off at one of the first stops as I wanted to walk around the Capitol Building area. After walking around, I waited for a trolley to pick me up. It never came, either because the routes were changed because the streets were being closed off for the protest that was to be held in front of the Capitol Building or because there were so many people on the trolleys already that they weren’t going to stop mid–route to pick up more. So I walked instead of riding to my next destination.

With three cruise ships in port, some of the sidewalks were overloaded but walkable. My taxi driver told me that sometimes there are as many as seven cruise ships at the same time in port. So if you are planning to go to Puerto Rico, it may be wise to try to pick dates to go when it will have fewer visitors. I think you could find this out by checking internet cruise sites.

Castillo de San Felipe de Morro

There are two major forts to visit in  San Juan, built to protect Puerto Rico under  Spanish rule from being invaded. Construction of he Castillo de San Felipe de Morro was started in 1539.

Castillo San Cristobal

The Castillo San Cristobal was begun in 1765. My photos of the two forts and part 1 of other photos of Old San Juan are on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/old–san–juan–part–1/

(Slide Shows, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, “Old San Juan: Part 1”).

Paseo de los Presidents

Bronze statues of the U.S. presidents who have visited Puerto Rico are displayed across from the Capitol Building on the Paseo de los Presidents. Only eight presidents have visited Puerto Rico and, hence, have statues: Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Rossevelt, Harry S Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Barack Obama.

Puerto Rico Capitol Building

The marble Puerto Rico Capitol Building is quite impressive.

Cathedral San Juan Bautista

Juan  Ponce de Leon, the explorer and founder of San Juan, is interred in the Cathedral San Juan Bautista (Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist). The mummified remains of Saint Pius are also here.

I have put my second batch of photos of Old San Juan on a second slide show. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/old–san–juan–part–2/

(Slide Shows, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, “Old San Juan: Part 2”).

Going Home

I would have liked to have spent more time in Old San Juan and also in Puerto Rico. There is much to do here including visiting a rain forest, a rum factory, a coffee plantation, another city, and, of course, all kinds of watersports.

But time to head back to LA via two flights, nos. 13 and 14 of my flights in the month of April. No. 13, on United, didn’t take off from Puerto Rico on time. It spent three hot hours at the gate trying to get the air conditioner to work. We finally took off by getting rid of some of the fuel and flying to Houston at a lower altitude, which was supposed to solve the problem. But I missed my connection to Los Angeles, and since no more flights were going out that night to LA, I had to spend the night in Houston at United’s expense.

With all the flights I have flown on, there was only one other time that I didn’t fly out when I expected to and had to spend another night there––it was in Venice, Italy. Being stuck in Venice is not at all a bad thing. But I was given back my suitcase then. At Houston, I asked for my suitcase, and after waiting about an hour for it, I gave up. Of course, I didn’t think of packing my carry–on as if I was going to have to stay overnight someplace on my way home. Next time I will. Lesson learned.