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We came to Puerto Rico to visit our Harvard friends Nilsa Santiago and Pedro Ray.
We left the BVI'S very early for the 90 nautical mile crossing to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We had a following sea so the crossing was quiet comfortable. Our first view of San Juan was the massive fortifications of 'San Cristobal Castle', the fortification walls and 'San Felipe El Morro Castle'. We entered the large harbour and squeezed very tightly between two large motor cruisers in the marina 'Club Nautico'.
We had a very interesting session with the immigration officers as our last entry to US territory was not stamped as a new 90 day entry. However, the officers were thorough and helpful and finally worked out that we had another 90 days issued on the April visit to the US Masters, which covered us for our entry for our trip home in July.
The marina is in the centre between old ( Viejo) San Juan and new San Juan city. We had time to go into the old city to discover this attractive old Spanish colonial fortified town, which is now a UNESCO site. There are old cobble stoned streets with colourful terraced houses and very regal old colonial government buildings. There are also some attractive Art Deco commercial buildings such as the central 'Banco Popular'.
Saturday. We wanted to take the crew out to dinner for good local food. So, we made some inquiries about Puerto Rican food restaurants in the centre. We were unable to get a walking guide so we decided to do our own tour of the town. Our first stop was a nice clothing boutique 'Pure Soul', where JB bought some really nice pieces from designers of this area. The girls in the store were really helpful in informing us about where we should eat that night, and about local art museums.
We then went to the Cathedral square and wandered through some stunning old landscaped streets with historic houses to the San Juan gate in the fortification wall. In the 18th century this had been the access point for dignitaries who had sailed to the island and would enter the gate going directly to the cathedral to give thanks for safe passage.
We wandered up along the old walls and waterfront to discover the small restaurant that had been recommended for us to eat at that night. We discovered also that there was to be a religious festival next to the restaurant called 'Palma' that night, with music and dancing.
We returned to the old 'Arsenal' on the harbour to visit a very good contemporary art museum in these historic buildings. When we return to the boat we run into our old friend and ex crew member Barry Griffin, who we invite to join us for dinner.
We went to mass at the cathedral which was in Spanish. We then join all the crew at Palma's our restaurant for tonight. The surrounding area was abuzz with excitement because of the festival of the Virgin Mary. There were people dancing Salsa in the Bars. Older men and women were setting up their chairs in front of the stage for a good view. Our dinner was real local fare. Mojito's and Sangria's washed down Mofungo, goat stew and beans and rice.
The festival is now in full swing with people dancing and singing. It is great to see a large crowd drinking singing and dancing and so well behaved, just having fun. We then went onto a salsa dance club, but it was so busy and jam packed so we all decide to head home to the boat.
Sunday. We hired a guide, 'Cruz', to take us on a driving tour across the island to the city of 'Ponce'. He explains the island is only 100 miles long and 30 miles wide. It has a huge mountain range running down the middle of the island.
Our trip to Ponce, is over this mountain range and takes us 1.5 hours. The north side of the island is very green and the south side when we arrive, is dry and barren. Ponce was the wealthiest town on the island for many centuries and was home to several famous industrialists, including 'Luis Ferre'. He built the highway from San Juan to Ponce and the stunning Ponce Museum of Art, which we visited.
The town now has seen better days. There is a real division between the old regal established villas and the working class cottages at the bottom of the hill.
One really beautiful home which was owned by the 'Don Q' rum family, is now a museum. The art gallery was a stand out and we really enjoyed the collection. It was curated to reflect the old with very new works sharing similar themes. It has beautiful gallery rooms opening to stunning Spanish gardens such as you might sen in Granada .
That night we meet up with our friends Nilsa and Pedro for drinks on BP. We reminisce about our Harvard reunions we have attended. We also discover more about Puerto Rico from them. We have dinner at a small local restaurant serving local food 'The Stirrup'. We then drive back through the very fashionable beach front area of 'Condado'.
Monday. We drive east to the area of Rio Grande to play golf with Paul at 'The Trump Championship Course', on Coco Beach. This is a good resort course with lots of water, birds, animals ( lots of large lizards), and wide fairways and good greens. We are lucky we finish before a massive tropical storm erupts.
Tomorrow we are off to the Dominican Republic to play golf at Capo de Campo, 'The Eye Of The Dog' course. This is a world famous course, we are really looking forward to playing. We have really enjoyed Puerto Rico, and meeting our friends here has been great.
JB and Mick
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suzanne Thanks for the good read on your Puerto Rico land visit. Always informative!