Exploring Old San Juan

Saturday, May 26, 2007
By Chelsea Young

Oh, the joys of having free time. Shopping, dining, walking…it’s all a part of the quintessential Old San Juan experience. I only wish that I had had more time in this amazing city. I’m in awe of the culture that makes San Juan so lively and all that there is to do here.

On Saturday morning Angie, Jessica, Dianne, and I began the day with breakfast at the hotel and then took the bus (for only 50 cents) to the Castillo de San Cristóbal. This historical fort had beautiful views to the ocean and we were able to walk into the dungeons where the walls had ships drawn on them from old prisoners, showcasing their plans for escape. My favorite part of seeing this fort was the views from the sides of aqua water and bright green grass – that was absolutely stunning.

I'm standing near Castillo de San Cristóbal overlooking the ocean. What a view!

After the fort, the four of us took a trolley to the central part of Old San Juan for a shopping excursion, and an excursion it was. There are so many shops and boutiques in Old San Juan that we literally spent all day there. Those of us who aren’t vegetarians ate hot dogs from a hot dog stand for lunch. We went to the open-air market, souvenir stores and boutiques as well as “must see” stores like Señor Frogs, which was honestly not that impressive. I prefer local places that are more unique.

One of my most memorable moments was when Angie and I went into this dress store that was owned by an older couple. The store specialized in dresses all made from beautifully colored fabrics. We were determined to find dresses that fit, but after trying on clothes for over half an hour, we gave up and walked away empty handed. Although a depressing moment, looking back it was rather funny how much we just wanted a cheap dress despite how well it fit. Trust me, we both almost forfeited a proper fit for a good deal and that’s not always a good thing.

We spent a good amount of time in outlet stores, which is ironic since the merchandise can all be found near home in the continental United States. Even though I’d rather give my money to a local store I still spent money at the Polo store, which is probably something many tourists in Puerto Rico end up doing. Regardless of where everything I bought is from I look forward to the moments when I can tell people “I got that in Puerto Rico!”

After a long day of shopping we were definitely ready to sit back and relax at dinner, but we wanted something cheap since our pocket change was getting low and the numerous swipes on our credit cards left us a bit worried. We happened to be walking through Old San Juan when a man by the name of Lenny approached us. He was somewhat small with a long white beard and he was extremely friendly. Lenny handed out some cards to a restaurant called Café Amapola saying he owned the restaurant. We quizzed him about how much it would cost and he told us we could get rice, beans, sweet plantains for under 10 dollars. After that we were sold.

The restaurant overlooked the ocean and at Lenny’s suggestion, we sat on the terrace. Kendal, Wes, Kimberly, and Dawn were all also there so we sat with them and enjoyed good food and conversation. Lenny came to the restaurant and I know that he was happy we had decided to go to his restaurant and even happier that we loved the food. Later, after leaving the restaurant we saw Lenny on the streets again, trying to entice people to dine at his place.

Before going home we walked through the market again where a live band was playing and people of all ages were dancing. This was a true display of culture. Seeing all these people kicked back, relaxing and enjoying the music or moving their bodies in rhythm made me wish that our own culture was more like this, more carefree and about just living life. I’ll never forget this one old woman, who was so small and frail, but she was dancing away in the middle of the crowd.

Spending time in Old San Juan gave me a better idea of the Puerto Rican culture. I had so much fun in that part of the city and was able to immerse myself more in the Puerto Rican lifestyle by observation. Although I was completely exhausted by the end of the day, Saturday in Old San Juan was one of my most memorable times on the trip.