San Juan

The Charity: Forto del Morro

The Guy: The National Park Service does not allow its members to be video taped.

Despite having rules against allowing a good samaritan to have a less-than-one-minute interview with an employee, the fort is spectacular and worth donating to. I’ve been to many national parks, monuments, and the like- and while this one is small, it is steeped in history, has gorgeous views, and is very easily accessible.

From

Top Five things to do in San Juan (I did a version of all these things):

Five: (Three way tie) Capital Building/Bankruptcy Court/ Governors House

Four: Live it up in Condado for an evening. Crazy times.

Three: Take a Trolley ride/walk around old San Juan

Two: Forto Del Morro

One: Further solidify your gambling addiction. Pay for trip to the Caribbean (interpret that you may).

Things I passed on: Visiting the rainforest, the beach, enjoying all the good food (I only enjoyed some.

Value place to stay: San Juan Guest House (formerly Vicinte Castro). About $20 a night, you get what you pay for in terms of a room, but nice staff and great location.

San Juan Ratings. On a scale from 1 to Boston: 9

San Juan has gambling, first world amenities and safety, Puerto Ricans, bi-lingual populace, great weather, beautiful beaches, free wifi in all of Old San Juan, water all around it, and a rain forest.

San Jaun doesn’t have mountains.

The story: San Juan is my favorite place on this trip thus far. So much so, that despite my normally rigid rules about not returning to a destination if I have already been there (because there are so many places to see), I see myself returning within the next few years. I arrived at the airport and was met, not by people hounding me to take there taxi, but an official (albeit somewhat pricey) company with fixed prices. This is after I used the free wifi to figure out where I was going. Then I arrive at a guest house that offers rooms for a Jackson, in the middle of Old San Juan. The guy their was helpful, and did not care that I wanted the cheapest room, and gave me servicio excellente. As you can tell, my Spanish is improving. Then I took a walk around, everyone in San Juan was nothing but helpful and friendly, and I sat down in a plaza and used the free communal wifi (Username: turisto password: turisto). Then I walked from Old San Juan to experience all that Condado had to offer on a Wednesday night, and left exhausted. Finally, the next morning I toured Del Morro, the governors office, bankruptcy court, and the capial. Very fun and exciting time in San Juan, wish I had some more.

Como se dice “to give” dinero a del Morro. Por favor? Gracias.