Day Two, our first full day in this new world. We had planned while in San Juan area to visit the historic old San Juan and the fort ". This ended up being a trip highlight. The old Fort is a wonderful work of architecture and fortification. I have never been able to climb around anything this old. Even when I was in Moscow and we visited St Basil’s Cathedral (1560s) we were very limited in where we could move. The fort offered us few limits, the grounds, the tunnels, and the fortifications were all open for people to wander through. Around every wall was another vista, another fortification, another room to explore. It was hot, no air conditioning, and most of the area was outside.

Castillo de San Cristobal (On the right in the map below) is the latter of the two fortresses. According to the history provided by the National Parks Website, "The Spanish Crown then decided to fortify the entrance of the San Juan harbor and commissioned the construction of a fortification in a headland (“morro” in Spanish) on the Western-most side of the San Juan Islet. In 1539, construction of what was to become Fort San Felipe del Morro was initiated." Castillo de San Cristobal was a later

fortification which was constructed during the mid to late 1600's. Both fortifications continued to be modified and served as active military posts even through WWII. Today, the forts are a National Park and World Heritage Site. Later (with pictures I took at Castillo San Felipe del Morrow) you will see the difference in architecture, however both of the forts held a rustic beauty and a strength in their thick walls and heavy doors. 

On the first day in Old San Juan three large cruise ships were docked in San Juan Bay. They were impressive in size and Terri loved it when the deep "fog horn" sounded signaling to the cruise folks that their ride was about to leave. The sound echoed across the hillside and you could feel the vibrations all the way at the top of the fort a half mile away. 

After a long hot day at the fort we were ready to pick our way through the tight city streets back to our car. Along the way, we encountered a lazy local coffee shop and had to stop in for some refreshment and for me, caffeine. We were greeted in English as was the usual on this side of the island, ordered a cold drink and a coffee. We sat and reflected on our day's journey and enjoyed a respite before the long walk back to the car.