The Golden Gate of the East…
The Golden gate to the San Francisco bay is so named because it opened up the gold riches in California to the world. Puerto Rico is the Gate which opened up America’s riches to the old world. The first island on the route west with fresh water, it was the one of the first ones colonized.
Juan Ponce De Leon was the first one to colonize the place under the Spanish Monarch’s name and Spain fought the British and the Dutch over 400 years to retain control of the crown jewel of the Caribbean until they finally lost it to the US in the late 19th Century. It was an important US Navy installation until the middle of the last century and now is a Caribbean paradise most of the time. It gets ravaged by the Atlantic hurricanes every once in a while. Maria swept through this past summer and most of the island is still recovering.
San Felipe del Morro Fortress protects the bay of San Juan and is situated at the North West corner of what is now Old San Juan.
This fort is eerily reminiscent of the forts along the Western Ghats in India. They all started of with the sole purpose of protecting the land behind them and then living accommodations were made, you can see why. With a view of the coast like this, this is prime real estate. Now it is a National historic site and again free entry thanks to the Annual Pass. The lawns are immaculate and thanks to the constant breeze a great place to come hang out, have a picnic, fly a kite or two.
Old San Juan is right there, it is distinct because of its blue cobblestone streets and a colorful take on Spanish Conquest architecture.
There’s more eateries(do yourself a favor and check out Kabanas,for their taco shells, Sanse, for their tapas and Kasalta, for their tres leches) and bars than you need. Enough shops to tire the greatest of shoppers. After the hurricane it is undoubtedly leading the renaissance of the island from a tourism perspective. Almost everything is back to what is used to be.
Speaking of what used to be, history buffs will be happy to note that Ponce de Leon is interred here at the San Juan Cathedral. Old San Juan also boasts of an Art and History Museum. Plan a day or two and roam around this place. You will be lost in history. Happily not a lot of efforts are being made to modernize it.
Across that bay, lies Isla de Cabras which hosts the the other half the historical defense of Bahia de San Juan. More interestingly, the Bacardi rum factory is not that far off. This location supplies 85% of all the Bacardi Rum which is consumed in the world. They also have historical tours of the facility. The bar there also holds what are probably two of the oldest bottles of Bacardi made Rum. They are, according to the tour guide, priceless.
This however, is a very small part of a much larger island. The El Yunque National forest(closed as of now due to the hurricane) is the only tropical rain forest in the US National Forest system. It offers access via a hike to the highest point on the main island. And as has been long professed every national park/forest is unique, this one is certainly worth the visit.
But fear not Naturalists, Puerto Rico holds 3 of the 5 Bioluminescence water bodies in the world. What is bioluminescence you might ask? Microscopic plankton emitting light. Laguna Grande on the north eastern tip by the town of Fajardo is the easiest one to access. There are night tours to the lagoon or you can take your own kayak. Make sure to go there when it is the darkest and you will see something unforgettable. Now the photos on the web are not real, thats not how it looks like. But it is still quite something. The other option is to head to the island of Vieques and spend a night there to go visit Mosquito Bay, this is perhaps the most famous of these locations.
Drum roll please….
Now to the most important thing, we are in the Caribbean, you are here to find your beach. There is no other plausible explanation to anyone being here. Find your beach, we ended up at Luquillo. There are hundreds of these beaches all around the island. Many remote and secluded. If you wish for even more seclusion, head on over to Culebra, an island just of the east coast(40 min. Boat ride from Fajardo).
However, all is not rosy, the hurricane left a trove of destruction. The locals were blessed by their Gods for 7 years until Maria arrived.
The rebuild has started.
And as the sun sets on the past and what was, the Puerto Rican’s look to the future where the light of hope still shines on.
Bonus Photos in my PhotoStory on HopBucket :
