OKAY! And as if yesterday wasn’t a good enough, today got even better and more eye opening. I just never knew that such beauty exists. Today after our room change (I am now in a room with two “beds” AND mini-fridge!!!!) we went to see the fortresses.
There are two of them: San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal. They were both incredible. We first went to San Cristobal. That one was very spread out. Each of the levels seemed to be carved out of the land. It was like a castle with grass as the floor. It was a little hilly and had IGUANAS everywhere. I mean everywhere! Anywhere we stopped for a picture we could find one. We found many “iguana holes.”
Can you find the iguana in the picture below???
We were very hot and took about all that we could of the sun so we decided it was lunch time. We went to a cute little restaurant called “El Juarito.” (I think) They serve a lot of seafood, the which neither of us liked… but we tried the place anyway. We shared 3 side dishes: White rice & beans (BEST beans I have ever had!), Mofongo de yuca (can’t really explain it…. Just a fried blob of potato like substance) and Tostones de pana (like fried plantains…. Only better in my opinion.) And they serve these things with this delicious fry sauce. (Mayonnaise and ketchup) As we were eating, a gentleman, probably in his 60s started talking to us. First in English… and when he found of we spoke Spanish he was delighted. We talked about the university and such. Then he gave us avocado. Then the owner gave us avocado and told us that “even if you don’t speak Spanish, after eating here you leave speaking it.” Haha, and then when we were about to leave… we find that the gentleman that first spoke to us paid for our lunch. What a lovely man! J
We then continued down the street to find the next fortress. This one was definitely better. The view was AMAZING! I think it had 6 levels if I remember correctly. At this place we were climbing up and down ramps and stairs… we even got to go inside a light house! (but they wouldn’t let us go to the very top.) The fortress had a beautiful view of the ocean and the city of San Juan. From there we could also see the “Island of Goats.” It was the island where the Spanish put people with leprosy. That is where we will go Wednesday. This fortress also had a beautiful cemetery. I sang my own version of the song “If I Die Young…” I decided I wanted to be buried here. I really wish I could describe how breathtaking this place was. I have on here pictures…. But they truly do not do the scenery justice. If you ever come to Puerto Rico, “El Morro” (the two “castles”) are a definite MUST.
Walking up to the castle....
Below is the cemetary.
Majestic no?
On our way back from El Morro, we passed by a plaza that had a TON of pigeons. I mean a TON. And we also met the bird man. He loved the birds and he wanted you to love them too. He tried to get us to hold them… but we settled for just throwing them food. It was fun to throw it in the air and watch all of them fly up to try and catch it.
We went grocery shopping later that evening because we’re sick of eating out…. AND we now have a mini-fridge! I know I said that already…. But since Sunday night I hadn’t had one…. It’s the little things in life, I believe. I washed some clothes, which was sort of an adventure as well. There is a single washing machine on the terrace of our 4 story building…. And the machine looks to be as old as I am. But it washed my clothes and then I hung them to dry. And that wraps up my day… pretty much. J
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