A Visit to Old San Juan

Footsteps on the Island of Enchantment

| | | | | | | | | | | |

A Visit to Old San Juan

Old San Juan is the Capital city of Puerto Rico. It is a very historic city as you can see by these photos.

Capilla del Cristo in Old San Juan.

Above and below we have the Capilla del Cristo (Christ Chapel).

That is my very best friend, Carmin, in the picture and my two nephews Ruben and Hector with Alberto, a friend of theirs. Carmin is also a teacher in our school Colegio del Pilar. She teaches Social Studies.

At the bottom right is San Francisco Street and at the bottom left we have Hector in the Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park) feeding the pigeons. The Parque de las Palomas is right next to the Capilla del Cristo at its right side.

Hector in "el Parque de las Palomas."

At the bottom we have one of the many artisans who practice their art while you watch and wait and sell it on the streets of San Juan near the harbor. This one is making paintings inside a glass using colored sand and then sealing it with candle wax.

Here at the bottom left we have my friend Carmin, Ruben, Alberto and Hector in front of the sign that leads to El Morro Fort. We were doing the rounds in Old San Juan and I was the photographer. I really don't like being photographed.

This photo at the bottom left is a view in the background of El Morro Castle as seen from the entrance of "Cuartel de Ballajá" (Ballaja Quarters)where we take our "Cuatro" musical lessons. The "Cuatro" is our typical Puerto Rican string instrument.

El Morro Castle seen here in the background.

Here we are taking our "cuatro" musical lessons. The one standing is the teacher. This is only half of the group. The other half is where I am taking the photo facing them. The "cuatro" is our typical Puerto Rican string instrument.

Cuatro Lessons

"Cuatro" means four. The reason for this name is that originally it had only four strings. But with the passing of time it has been modified and now it has five double strings, but it is still called a "cuatro." You can also see a few of our typical musical instruments.

Cuatro Puertorriquño

This is a more complete view of El Morro Fort. A wonderful view. On Sundays families come here to practice kite flying since it's windy most of the time (bottom left).

A black dog; Actual size=240 pixels wide

At the top left we have Iglesia de San Jose (San Jose Church). It is the second oldest church in use in the New World.

At the top we have La Fortaleza Street and you can see the Governor's Mansion at the end. The Mansion is the oldest fortification in Old San Juan.

At the bottom of the Governor's Mansion we have the Capitolio which is our White House.

This is El Paseo de la Princesa (The Princess' Walk). It leads from La Puerto de San Juan which is the ancient door to the historic San Juan. You can find it on the map at the bottom.

There are many colorful snow cone cars like this one. Everyone loves a snow cone when the heat gets you. It is icy cold and you choose your favorite flavor. My favorite flavor is passion fruit. Ah...

A cat; Actual size=240 pixels wide

Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan (The Castles of Old San Juan). Forts really. The first one is San Felipe del Morro as seen from the entrance of the port. Next is Castillo de San Cristobal. At tthe bottom we have a section of the walls of the city and finally El Canuelo.

Enter supporting content here