We boarded an amazing ferry (50¢ each way) and disembarked in Old San Juan. San Juan Antiguo is the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico and the historic colonial section of the city of San Juan. The western portion of the islet and barrio is a National Historic Landmark District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Old San Juan Historic District. This was the perfect location to end our visit to Puerto Rico.

In 1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the original settlement. In 1521, the name San Juan was added, and the newer settlement was given its formal name of San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico, following the usual custom of christening the town with both its formal name and the name which Christopher Columbus had originally given the islands, honoring John the Baptist.
Our first stop was to visit the final resting place of the town's founder. Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista is one of the oldest buildings in San Juan, the oldest cathedral in the United States, and is the second oldest cathedral in the Americas (1511).
This is the tomb of the Spanish explorer and settlement founder Juan Ponce de León.
This has to be the most ideally situated cemetery. Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863, and is located outside the walls of Fort San Felipe del Morro fortress, one of the island's most famous landmarks.
The location of the cemetery is central to the Puerto Rican belief in the separation of death and life. The colonial Spanish government at the time construction of the cemetery began, viewed death with fear because it was a mystery. Therefore, they decided to build the cemetery to overlook the Atlantic Ocean to symbolize the spirit's journey to cross over to the afterlife. So interesting and scenic!
I photographed Steve on the wall of the Fort. The average height of the wall is 40 feet and the width ranges from 15 to 20 feet. The photo below is extra special as it was taken in 1955, by Steve's dad of Steve's mom. I will share more about this in the future. Isn't it an amazing capture of them both?!

The city is characterized by its narrow, blue cobblestone streets, and flat roofed brick and stone buildings which date back to the 16th and 17th century—when Puerto Rico was a Spanish possession. It is still gorgeous.

It appears that early May is the rainy season. Tourists running for cover was a common view today!





In many parks, we witnessed “El Domino” being played. We learned that it is not simply a game of strategy or just a pastime, but also an activity around which community relationships are built and sustained. Dominoes are played in all circles in the Puerto Rican society by people of all ages. Fun!
Since we had just been to on a Bacardí tour and since they are supposedly the ones to create this magical drink, we decided to have a Cuba Libre as a parting libation (285,000 are consumed every hour, worldwide). What makes a Cuba Libre different than a regular old Rum & Coke is the lime juice and according to our tour, Bacardí rum with real Coca-Cola. To make a traditional Cuba Libre you juice half a lime, muddling the spent shell in the bottom of the glass with the juice to bring out some of the oils in the lime, before adding the ice, rum, and coke. It was refreshing and special even though mine was made with Diet Coke.

Loved this motto at our last stop before heading back, "Rums of Puerto Rico- 450 years of Party". This beverage was a Mango Bajito (you don't want to know what that means in Latin slang). Regardless of its name, it was refreshing.
Iguanas are native to Central and South America, but were introduced to Puerto Rico in the 1970s through the pet trade. Some of these pets were released into the wild and have now become a full-blown pest control issue, mostly due to the fact that they have no natural predator on the island. There are believed to be over 10 million iguanas on the island now, and the population is expected to double every year or so if nothing is done to slow the population growth. They are truly devasting to life here, for many reasons, yet they are part of the Puerto Rican landscape for now.
Since we are leaving this Isla del Encanto mañana, I just want to briefly comment on the devastation we have seen. If you want to know more about Puerto Rico in the Fiesta Island Days, I recommend that you watch the movie below. Since we haven't spent more than a day here in the past, we have little idea what things were like before Hurricanes Irma and Maria, but in a little over seven months, the residents have rallied and tried to return it to an Island destination worth visiting. Yes, there is evidence of the massive destruction, but there was still so much beauty and plenty of opportunities to discover amazing things. We absolutely loved our time here and  it certainly is a Fiesta Island in our memories.