Knowing and enjoying "mi viejo San Juan..." (my old San Juan) :)

It was 6 something when we arrived to San Juan. The trip was short and we enjoyed it. San Juan looked so lovely with all the lights. Yes, it was a Spanish colony, so it reminded me the old part of Lima ;) Francisco was an excellent guide and told us some of the history of the city and country, while we were leaving the harbour and walked to see the walls that surrounded the city.

The night was perfect, warm but not too much so we could walk without any problem. We were listening to our history lessons, while we were taking pics of the beautiful surroundings. This city has a lot of history. We kept on walking until we arrived to the "Paseo de la Princesa", which offers amazing views of San Juan Bay and the colonial wall. There was an exhibition going on, where you could see interesting pictures of Puerto Rico and other places. Our group looked a bit like a tourist one, whit a guide (Francisco), haha. I was thinking that for myself, but I wasn't the only one, since I noticed a couple of guys that stopped behind us, just to listen to Francisco, lol.

While we were there we saw a nice cafe and after checking the menu, we decided to go in. We didn't have plans for dinner except having something Puerto Rican. Francisco was a bit afraid this place would be just a tourist's one, but agreed to try it since it looked so nice! And no regrets at all. All the tables were outside, which was perfect since the night was warm. We got a nice table just in the middle. You'll see the pictures, the place was perfect. The waiter came shortly to take our order. First the drinks, we were in Puerto Rico, so something with Rum for me :) I got a Daiquiri, Mark a Mojito, Nancy a Medalla light (the local beer which just has a light version. .. funny) and Francisco a Pina Colada.

Then we ordered the food, which took as a bit long since we didn't have any idea about what to order, haha. Nancy was the 1st to order: "Chorizo al vino" which is sauted sausage with sherry wine; Mark asked for a Mofongo. I have been told the Mofongo is a MUST here. I wanted to order it too, but I wasn't too hungry plus still had some days to taste it, hehe. The Mofongo is mashed plantain fried, stuffed with beef, chicken, fish, crab or shrimps. Well, Francisco and me weren't that hungry, so we ordered "Antojitos de aqui" which was a platter of Puerto Rican appetizers, including the alcapurrias, fried cheese, mofonguitos (little mofongos) and cornsticks. No need to say the food was very yummy! We were talking about the plans for the next days and who else would join us. I had a great time here, but it was time to keep on moving or we wouldn't be able to do all the things we planned before party time :)

Well in order to go to the city itself, we had to cross the wall. Of course we would do it the right way, going through the main entrance. But to achieve the main entrance we had to walk for a bit. Which was really nice, since we had the opportunity to do a bit more of sightseeing while we walked through the "Paseo del Morro" enjoying the nice view of the bay at our left side and the wall and the city at our right. Of course we took some pics and made fun, lol. While we were walking, Gladys - a local friend of Francisco - called him, letting him know she was in her way to Old San Juan and was waiting for us, yay! the more the merrier, yay!

Finally we got into the city. It's a beautiful city and the cities made it so lovely, awwww. We saw the "Casa de Gobierno" and I got my traditional pic with a cop, haha. The streets with bricks and balconies reminded me a bit of Cusco or Arequipa - without the hight hills - and balconies in Lima. Well, we both have Spanish influence, hehe. We were walking around downtown, arrived to the main square, saw the Cathedral and kept on taking pics.

Gladys called again. She already parked and was waiting for us to join her. We went to a bar called Nono's to have a couple of drinks. First we were thinking about dancing, but it was Thurs and not much was going on, so better go to one of San Juan's most traditional bars. We sat in the balcony and enjoyed our drinks. The city looked so quiet, but it would be different during the weekend.

It was so good Nancy could join us, but she had to leave early, since she had school the next morning and it was getting late. Well, but not late for us. So, we decided to stop in another club. Mark and me would wait there for Gladys and Francisco while they drove Nancy to her car. Hopefully she'd join us the next day. This club was very nice and had live music. So you can stay inside, drink and dance or go to the balcony. About 20min later Francisco and Gladys arrived. The 4 of us were chilling out and also dancing, hehe. Well, we didn't stay too long. Mark and I were a bit tired of our flights and also we had to wake up early tomorrow to visit the caverns.

But it didn't mean we went straight to the hotel. We stopped at the beach. What for? "The noche de San Juan" (San Juan's night) according to a tradition, you have to go into the sea at night so your wishes would become true. I did it, but just until my knees. Francisco did it properly and got all wet, lol. haha, we had a blast, haha. This day was full of fun and was just the Pre-Met Up, mmm could hardly wait for the next morning...