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| BxTeacher in Old San Juan |
Today was a day of changing plans and crowd avoidance. We
had planned to go to Museo de lasAmericas in Old San Juan. This is a new museum in the building of the InstitutoCultura puertoriqueno near El Morro. Things were looking good. We caught
the T5 bus not 2 minutes after we got to the stop in Isla Verde. The weather
was beautiful. There was no traffic and we breezed right into the bus terminal
in 30 min.
Then we encountered our first problem. 3 cruise ships
were in dock. That meant that almost
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| A busy day in San Juan port |
8000 people were being discharged where we
were at the same time. We just missed the trolley to El Morro, so we waited,
and we waited, and we waited. After 45 minutes it finally showed up again,
completely full with people who had boarded at the stop before ours, near the
ships. No room for anyone to get on. Now, some people might complain about
there not being enough trolleys to service the crowd, but one must remember
when travelling that things are NOT dine the same way as home. It is Christmas week.
I don’t know the holiday schedule for drivers or what it would have taken to
change it.
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| Cafe El Punto |
Instead of complaining a traveler goes with the flow. The
trolley to the center of Old San Juan came by empty, so we jumped in. We went
to Plaza de las Armas which is where the city hall is and our earlier discovery The Poet's Passage. From there we walked around Old San Juan. We had lunch at Cafe El Punto on Calle Forteleza. This was a wonderful find. It is in an old
house. Some of the rooms are tallers
for artists, some are the dining rooms and the kitchen is in what was the
courtyard of the house. He alcapurias
were good and the beef empanada was
excellent.
We walked into some of the souvenir shops, looking for
better quality and avoiding the tourist traps.
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| Truth in advertising |
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One good shop is Mi Pequeno San Juan, owned by the
same artists that own The Poet’s Passage. I also picked up 2 pounds of artisanal
Puerto Rican coffee to have when I get back home. We also stopped by plaza de las palomas and took some pictures. By that time it had started to rain in OSJ so we
changed our plans and headed home, adding time to visit with family to our
evening.
The point is – you can be tourist, make a schedule and
stick to it come hell or high water. I have found that this leads to
frustration and fights with The Amazing Ms. D leaving no one
happy. Or, you can be a traveler and take what the day gives you. Will you see
everything that you planned to? Probably not. Will you discover new things that
you didn’t know were there? Most likely. Will you be more relaxed and have a
more enjoyable vacation? Definitely!
Sounds nice. Hey if you want canned & "Perfect," go to a Di$ney place.
ReplyDeleteIn the last 21 years that I have traveled with the Bx teacher, we have explored many places all over the world. What I love about it is that he is always open to the new and different. (I am, sort of, but have an all out war with our airline industry. I love being there but hate geting there.) When I first introduced him to my family and my culture, I watched very carefully. What I saw was a man who was totally open and reserved judgement until he fully explored a given situation. My family fell in love with him and so did I, in part, because of this openness and willing to see the world from a different perspective. I think he has gained riches, so have I.
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