Keep on Cruising

Sunday in San Juan was gorgeous.

Random facts:
Old San Juan was founded in 1508 and is the oldest city under the US flag.
The locals are US citizens and you don't need a passport to visit the island.
San Juan is the largest home-based cruise port in the world.
The blue cobblestones in the city were originally ballasts in Spanish galleons.
AND the Pina Colada was created in Puerto Rico.
We ate a nice breakfast at a little cafe before setting off to explore San Juan.
(The shorts are some we bought because of the hasty packing thing.)
We went to both forts and I took a gazillion pictures of the same stuff but from different views - because I could. These little lookouts are all along the walls which run for a couple of miles along the coast.
The walls are up to 18 Feet thick in some places.
I really liked the archways supporting the walls and the rather mottled gray/white stone.
Here's a boat we saw from one of the lookouts.
We could have used this bad boy to blast that baby right out of the water.
You can see on the ground where they used to rotate the cannons. But, I think this particular cannon might need a "bit" of work to be functional.
(Front end view of the previous cannon.)

Chuck actually posed for a picture with me. However,
apparently we were WAY under dressed.

Note she is sitting and looking at her feet...? Yeah, she could hardly walk anymore.
Ahhh...the price one pays for fashion.
The entrance to "El Morro Fort" the larger of the two forts.
This is the view from the closest street.

You can see the cemetery in the foreground.
The fort is in the back left.

Here's a closer view of the cemetery and capilla (chapel).
There were families flying kites in the big green grassy area
(hence first photo in this post of the butterfly kite).

Check out the groovy van that was selling ice cream and playing Christmas music.
It reminded me of the Chuckwagon.

Here are a couple more random pics. Crazy 60 foot tall textural, cylindrical "thing" in a plaza.

Some really cute, colorful, expensive wooden toys.
(Yes, that price is in US dollars.)

And one final doorknocker... Just because.

(This is all before we even got on the boat. So, there's going to be a whole lot more...
Don't feel obligated to read, wade, plow through any of this stuff. I'll never know :0)