I like the city of San Juan

Mu and I have just returned from a very welcome and super enjoyable week+ trip to Puerto Rico andCartagena the southern Caribbean. We became very excited to explore the Caribbean region when we learned about my assignment to the Bahamas.  But it turns out that getting between islands is a lot harder and pricier than you would think. The distances aren't large, but the air routes tend to work as a hub and spoke through Miami. So we decided to book a cruise to see a bunch of islands for our babymoon.  The cruise was out of San Juan so we had a fun weekend in San Juan as well.

The trip delivered in spades. The first part was an action packed but relaxing weekend in San Juan. This city is thriving with cool restaurants and such a great atmosphere. Plus it has a world class historic Old San Juan that is as captivating as any we explored during our travels. It felt a bit like Cartagena, Colombia with a grander old town and more historic. Amazing but true.

We rented an apartment in a neighborhood kind of in the center of the city, near the beaches and about 3 miles outside of the old town. This proved to be a great decision as the neighborhood, Miramar, ended up being that perfect traveling location of great local spots to hang out and really allowed us to feel like we sort of lived in the city. I loved pretending that this was our home for a weekend. I especially enjoyed the urban nature of San Juan, walking to dinner or the modern art museum or a hopping outdoor street party. It felt just a tad like we were back in beloved SF and able to walk to damn near anything. I miss that here in Nassau and San Juan was a wonderful reminder of why it is so nice to be in a walkable built environment.

We kind of split our days between the more modern eastern side of the downtown and the Old San Juan.

Walkabout San Juan style: our first day we headed out in the morning and ended up walking well over ten miles. Our kind of relaxing. Stops along the way included the modern art museum, which was okay. The funniest thing was how everyone wanted to help us navigate the museum, fully 7 people told us what to do next over the course of our short exploration. We also hit up the beach, got mangos and smoothies from the Mercado Santurce. Mu was also keen to get on a stand up paddle board, so we took a pair out in Laguna del Condado near the beach. This laguna has a family of manta rays that swam maybe 100 feet from our boards, along with a flock of huge pelicans and massive iguanas hanging out in mangrove trees. Super cool.

Old San Juan: as noted, this is a place that I think everyone should check out. It is sometimes hard to believe that this historical gem is part of the U.S., as the vibe is so different from anywhere else I have been in our bountiful country. The cobblestone streets are lined in tight with colorful colonial houses that all have these majestic and huge wooden doors. Then on either end of the city these massive forts guard the entrance and the ocean facing side. The city is ringed by 3 miles of seemingly impenetrable stone walls, that give vivid relief with the Atlantic. The original settlement of the city dates to around 1500, so there is serious history in these houses and walls. I loved just walking the streets and checking out little historical or architectural quirks. Also the forts never got boring, with great vistas of the city, both old and new.

So yes, I like the city of San Juan.