Sunday, April 7, 2013

Photo Profile of Cruise Destination San Juan




San Juan is unique amongst Caribbean island cruise ports. It is a major city just like you find on the mainland of North America or Europe. It dwarfs the other Caribbean island cruise ports.

From a cruise passenger's perspective, the section of town known as Old San Juan is the primary focus. It is where most of the ships calling in San Juan dock and where some that are starting off their cruise leave from. Also, it is where most of the city's tourist attractions lie.

Another factor that enters into the equation is that many of the ships arriving from Florida do not reach San Juan until afternoon. When all of the port formalities are done and the gangways finally openned, it is already mid-afternoon. While the cruise lines usually do sell excursions to places beyond Old Jan Juan - - the rain forrest and the Bicardi rum factory are popular - - they tend to involve returning to the ship after dark. So the majority tend to stay in Old San Juan.

So once the ship clears and you walk down the pier into Old San Juan, what is there to see? Old San Juan is the historic part of the city. It was the city of San Juan for many years. As a result, there are many historic places to visit.

For example, San Juan was a very important port during the colonial period and the European powers fought over it centuries. One of the things you will notice sailing into the Bay of San Juan is that there are two enormous fortresses guarding the city. One was to defend the city from attacks by sea while the other was to protect it from land-based assualts. They were still in use as military facilities in World War II. However, they are now operated by the U.S. Natiional Parks Service and are open to the public.

The Spanish also built impressive churches. The Cathedral of San Juan is the most famous and most revered religious site in Puerto Rico. Amongst other things, it contains the tomb of the explorer Juan Ponce De Leon who was also the island's first governor. However, don't miss the 16th century Church of San Jose, one of the oldest churches in the New World. In addition, there are many small churches scattered throughout the district that are archetecturally interesting.

Quite a few historic buildings have found new life as museums. They cover topics from art to antiquarian books to ethnic culture to the life of cellist Pablo Casals.

There are places to indulge in retail therapy as well. Within a few blocks of the cruise piers are numerous shops with internatiionally known names. There are also colorful local shops as well.

But Old San Juan is also just nice to stroll, particularly as the shadows start to become long. To illustrate, walk along the 19th century park-like Paseo de La Princesa and then beneath the towering city walls on the Paseo de Morro, which runs along the bay. Pass through the walls at the last remaining gate and stoll up the tree-lined cobble-stoned streets until you come to the Cathedral. Then head back down Cristo street past the shops until the street ends at the charming Parque de Palomas with its view of the bay. There you will also find the Casa de Libro musuem and the tiny 17th century Capilla de Cristo. Turn left and proceed down hill past colorfully-painted houses with wrought iron balconies to the cruise port. The atmosphere is romantic and the sights are pleasing to the eye.

Our San Juan profile page is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-san-juan.html It links to our discussion of the cruise port and to our links page. However, the feature of the San Juan ssection is the multi-page tour of Old San Juan with photos and descriptions of many of the attractions. It begins at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-old-san-juan-attractions.html

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