San Juan, Puerto Rico
December 17, 2022
We arrived to the San Juan port at 8 am. It had been raining since we finished breakfast but the weather report only called for a small chance of rain and it was beginning to let up.
We left the ship shortly after clearance was granted and we went into customs. Completely hassle free. Why was I surprised?
We took the shuttle into the old town area. Our plan was to do a walking tour and then grab an Uber out to the golf course.
The rain started up again and we stayed dry under the roof of the nearby theater. Since we were carrying our cleats and other golf items, Who has room for umbrellas? We waited for the rain to let up a bit and started our walk. After snapping some photos we went into a drug store and bought some umbrellas. The rain wasn’t going to stop for quite a while. We called the course and cancelled. It would be miserable to try and play.
One of the first stops on the walking tour was an open market area where vendors were just beginning to set up shop. I did speak with a gentlemen who rolled cigars right at his table. He said he would continue when the rain stopped. I told him I was visit him later. We walked though the shop are and the rain made it rather difficult.
San Juan is very clean and very friendly. There were other ships in port and the streets were crowded. As the day wore on, they became even more crowded. The rain eventually stopped. We stopped in a little restaurant for lunch and then continued our walking tour. Somehow, we ended up in the Don Collins Cigar shop. We sat inside and I sampled a cigar and we tasted different infused rum. The passion fruit was our favorite. I bought a box of rum infused cigars and we left.
Puerto Rico is rather fascinating. We took control in 1898 after the Spanish American War. I’m not sure why it isn’t a state but if Hawaii is then Puerto Rico should be.
We spent all day wandering the streets. The rain made it more difficult but we still had a great time. We did stop back at the market and I went back to the cigar maker. I talked with the worker at the stall about a deal on a box. I would buy a box but wanted to try them first. He gave me a price but it wasn’t the same as the owner quoted me in the morning. He pointed to the owner who was out of the market area puffing on one of his hand rolled cigars. “Go talk to him”, the worker said. I purchased one cigar and went to talk to the owner. I asked for a light and he offered his lighter. We had a few laughs and we bartered a bit. He ended up giving me a good price. I went back to the table and bought a box.
We boarded the shuttle back to the ship about 4 pm. The city was just starting to wake up and many areas had stages for live musicians. We decided that this is another area that we would return to and spend more time.
Everyone aboard is preparing for Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday morning. We will pack the 4 bags that we will ship home on Monday and leave them outside our door. The crew will place them out on the dock and we will grab them as we pass through customs. We will each have a bag to check on the plane and a backpack. The 4 large bags we will drop off at the fedex truck on the dock. It is really such a simple operation. The service HAL uses is called Luggage Forward and we already have the tags to go on our bags. A HAL bus will then take us to the Miami airport. Our flight is about 1 pm.
I’m glad I continue to write this blog. We really have a difficult time remember all that we have done, even on this trip. We can look at pictures and say “oh yeah” but where was it taken and what did we do? The blog makes it much easier. This kind of travel takes a lot of planning but is really a great way to see the world. Your “home” comes with you and you look forward to seeing the ship after every day of sightseeing.
Sunday and Monday at sea. One more time change and we are back on EST.…