Old San Juan

Soon we were at the meeting point in the theatre at the forward end of deck 3. This time heading ashore was just a case of stepping out onto the wharf which projected out into the azure blue water of the San Juan bay. Although we had been among Caribbean islands for days, our passage and other ports had all faced the Atlantic; the water in this sheltered bay was somehow more Caribbean in character.

Nana Visitor and her husband appeared among us; she was extremely sweet and immediately asked Alex if she was wearing sun screen, showing an earnest and heartwarming concern about Alex’s pale skin. San Juan is a large city covering several small islands, peninsulas and a substantial area of Peurto Rico’s mainland - we had landed on isla San Juan, the smallest of the islands and tour buses took us on a short hop to the opposite (northern) shore to begin our tour. We began at the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a 16th century fort and UNESCO world heritage site; the local guide talked us through moments in it history from Sir Francis Drake’s attack in the 1500s through to pointing out the naval gun emplacements added to defend the harbour during the World Wars.

The top of the battlements had great views over the bay and isla San Jan; a large iguana was sunbathing on them (Dan quipped that he was there for the Star Trek cruise because he had guest starred in the episode lifeline). The tour then meandered through small streets which retain a strong Spanish influence, back towards the harbour, the Caribbean heat and humidity really hitting us for the first time the entire trip. There were a couple of minor culture shocks like a gentleman selling crumbs to feed the pigeons (a practice banned in London decades ago) and a police officer directing traffic whilst armed with a pistol.

The tour, which had lasted a little under two hours broke up once we were in view of Explorer (plus another two large cruise ships). Nana was kind enough to pose for a selfie with us, before we headed to the ship.Read more