With my Summer course wrapping up and my Fall courses starting in late August, planning a trip in a narrow window of free time was a bit challenging. The only consolation was that this semester should be my last (thank God) meaning this should be the last time we plan a trip around my coursework. With Covid restrictions still an issue for some countries we hoped to visit, and the ongoing war in the Ukraine, once again we decided to look inward at what the United States had to offer. A brief glance at our map led each of us to the same conclusion about where we wanted to visit, and that was Puerto Rico.

We booked a flight on American Airlines from our local airport, as opposed to JFK or Logan, which cost a little more but saved us a drive. The first leg was an uneventful 45-minute flight to Philadelphia, where we had a brief layover. Our second leg was a four-hour flight that brought us to Carolina, Puerto Rico, a suburb of San Juan. Here we grabbed an Uber which brought us to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Juan, our home away from home for the next 8 days. The hotel was in a very convenient location, allowing us to walk to places, which was a big selling point for us. We were roughly a

• 1 minute walk from SuperMax, a market and liquor store,

• 5-minute walk east or an 8 minute walk northwest from a handful or restaurants.

• 9-minute walk or a 5 minute golf cart ride (provided by the hotel) from one beach, which had chairs and towels for the hotel guests.

• 12-minute Uber ride to Old San Juan.

In addition to all that, the hotel was reasonably priced, with very nice décor, and had an excellent restaurant and bar on the ground floor.

Our first full day found us at the beach, where we grabbed an umbrella and chairs and camped out all day, just taking it easy. The beach was that fine sand, with no pebbles or rocks. There was some seaweed on the shore, but that didn’t concern me…it’s an ocean, and unless you’re at a resort with manicured sand, you’ll have seaweed. The ocean was very warm, and the waves were big, but not big enough to prohibit a relaxing float or swim, which is exactly what we did. Later in the day, we caught the shuttle back to the hotel for a brief dip in the pool, before getting ready for dinner. The place we decided upon was La Pizzería - El Viejo Almacén, a 5-minute walk from our hotel, where we each had a personal pizza. I ordered a seafood pizza, topped with scallops, shrimp, and mozzarella, and it was amazing!

The next day we called for an Uber and headed into Old San Juan. Here we started with a visit to San Felipe del Morro, which was one of two Spanish Colonial era fortress that guarded the city. We wandered through the facility for an hour or so looking at the exhibits and history, all while sweating profusely, wondering how the soldiers managed to deal with the heat from the sun and the stone walls. From here we checked out some of the grounds surrounding the fort (which were filled with Iguanas!) and then walked to the Cementerio Santa María Magdalena de Pazzi, which was an old cemetery overlooking the ocean…not a bad spot for an eternal view. In the the fort there was no escaping the blazing sun, and now in the cemetery it was not any better. An executive decision was made, and we were on our way to a frozen daiquiri stand in the shade for a break.

Cooled off by our semi-frozen drink, we walked through the narrow streets of Old San Juan, looking at the houses and neighborhood plazas as we made our way toward the Old San Juan Gate. The last remaining of the original city gates, the San Juan Gate is a 40-foot doorway carved into the wall that once surrounded the city. In years past ships would anchor in the harbor and passengers would walk through the gate and up to the San Juan Cathedral for prayers. Following in the footsteps of history, we made our way up the Caleta de San Juan, but not without a stop at El Champi for some appetizers, sangria, and shade, before continuing to the Cathedral which housed the tomb of Spanish explorer, Ponce de León.

Our prayers in the Cathedral for the heat and sun to abate were futile, it was 89°F/31°C with humidity, but we kept exploring, walking up to the Calle de la Fortaleza, a street covered with a decorative canopy of flags/umbrellas/flowers (depending on the time of year). A bit further on we stopped at the Parque de las Palomas to watch the pigeons. It was neat, seeing how the pigeons flew around without smashing into you or each other. However it was terrifying at the same time, making me think of the Hitchcock film, The Birds. En masse, the pigeons swarmed you, looking for food, landing on your arms, shoulders, and head, and then would fly off just as quickly and as noisily as they landed on you. After wiping some pigeon poo off, we went to the Paseo de la Princesa to see the small park and the Raíces Fountain at the end of the boulevard.

Our last stop of the day in Old San Juan was the Castillo San Cristobal, the second fortress that protected the city from seagoing invaders. As a history aficionado, getting the chance to visit a place like this was really a treat. Both San Felipe del Morro, from earlier in the day, and this fort are part of the San Juan National Historic Site, so our entrance ticket to one facility was good for the other. We explored sentry boxes, powder rooms, kitchens and even managed to see their latrine, which was tucked into the massive fortress walls. The temperature had dropped significantly thanks to the cloud cover which obscured the sun, so even though we were tired from the day’s adventures, we weren’t sweating uncomfortably as we walked around. Finally it was time to go, and we grabbed an Uber and headed to the Playita del Condado, a small beach where we cooled off for an hour or so before grabbing a pair of Bird scooters and heading back to our hotel, calling it a day.

Next morning we were off to Casa Bacardi, the distillery where they make the many varieties of Bacardi Rum. The Bacardi brand has been around since 1862, when Don Facundo Bacardi Masso launched his rum in Cuba. Bacardi then moved to Old San Juan around 1936 and in the past few years, has emerged as the top selling rum in the United States. They have three tours available, the Legacy Tour, the Rum Tasting Tour, and the Mixology Class, all of which ranged from $30-$75 and lasted anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. During your tour you’ll learn about Bacardi’s history, how he started in rum, and the meaning behind the bat logo itself. We opted for the basic Legacy tour, supplemented with 45 minutes at the bar in the visitor center bar after the tour, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Keep in mind that a reservation is required 24 hours in advance.

After the tour we headed back to Old San Juan to wander about, looking at a few places we’d missed the prior day, before heading over to Balneario del Escambrón. This was an amazing beach which was dotted with palm trees, while the swimming area was sheltered from the ocean by rocks and a reef. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, snorkelling, and dozing in the shade. After a while some of the other beach goers started grilling food, which got out mouths watering. Realizing just how hungry we were, we grabbed an Uber and headed to el Refrán, a restaurant we had previously walked past that caught our attention because of the amazing smells coming from its kitchen. We each ordered some Medalla Lights (local beer) and the Churrasco, which was a skirt steak with Calgary seasoning and chimichurri, and came with a plate of rice and beans, and a salad. After dinner, we slowly walked along the beach toward our hotel, where we could sleep off our feast, and prepare for some more adventures during the next few days.

Borinquén: the great land of the valiant and noble Lord" or "land of the great lords."