Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day 6

I was thoroughly looking forward to this day and strolling around the island! I have seen pictures of the colored houses and doors and I was not disappointed seeing them in person. Abe and I both enjoyed the slow walking, hand in hand, and no rush to be anywhere.
We wandered around a bit and tried to avoid the tourist shopping. We came upon a gazebo with a guy sitting inside it. Abe, yet again, busted out his beautiful Spanish and got us a map. He then asked about the best streets to walk for a visual experience. The young man kindly circled where we were (right side of map), circled some key places to see, and directed us to the appropriate streets. Let me just say that I love to hear Abe speak Spanish. On the ship we have ran into the same family from Chile several times. Every time we have good conversation. Most of it is in Spanish and a little, for my sake, is in English. So if I am being asked something directly I can answer. Other than that Abe gets to translate for me.

Anyway, back to our stroll through San Juan.
The first thing that stood out to me the most were the blue cobble stone roads! They are gorgeous! I loved the character, the small plants that sometimes grew in the cracks, the unevenness yes smoothness of the roads, the narrowness of the road and the ability people had to maneuver around the parked cars (one way streets), and the sound of them beneath the cars tires.

Next thing I noticed were the abandoned buildings. Now, I know this sounds silly, but they were beautiful as well. They usually had trees and other plants growing out the windows, off the side, and on top of the roof. In Nevada it's so dry you have to try super hard to make something grow!

The top, white section is abandoned. 

Of course the well kept houses were beautiful as well. The rich color, the wood doors, the metal work; all of it was very pleasing to the eye!

We walked all the way up the streets and popped out to see this! Much of the island was surrounded by a city wall that was built a long time ago to help protect the island. It is visible in many of the following pictures.

cemetery

It rained a little bit as we were walking to the fortress/castle and then a rainbow appeared. I quickly asked for someone to take our picture!

We went just inside the doors and tried to get a glimpse. But, we didn't want to have to pay and feel like we had to stay in the fortress instead of looking around the city.

After getting a little bit of history, it started to pour. We quickly searched for a little bit of shelter to wait out the rain. But as quickly as it started it stopped. So we continued walking.

The rain came again as we walked down these steps. We again searched out shelter, along with a bunch of tough looking cats!!!

After 10 minutes we were out walking again. We chose whatever path we desired and we were never in any hurry.

We knew which way back we needed to go so we could have a pina colada from it's birthplace! We made it there and sat down to chat with our boys while we waited for our table.
Our boys are thriving and doing well! They didn't have much interested in talking to us after we got another earful  on Crew's birthday preparations. We both giggled over how adorable they were and know that they are having a good time! It's good to have such wonderful grandparents!!
The pina coladas here are very authentic. They had a very strong pineapple flavor compared to the other more coconut tasting pina coladas we had. It was ice cold and refreshing!

We didn't stay long because we knew we had to get back onto the ship. After avoiding the shops on the way up we did pop into a few on the way back. I bough a few trinkets for the boys and some color changing items. I then found a vendor selling jewelry made of flower seeds. I was hooked! I couldn't leave without buy one or two! I bought a red seed necklace and a brown seed necklace. He said they produce yellow and blue flowers. I can't remember which seed produced what flower. When I saw the red necklace I instantly thought of my Mom and knew she would most likely love it. I wish I would have spent my money on the other trinkets just so I could have bought more seed jewelry!!

With a few minutes to spare we got on board our ship and grabbed some lunch. We made our way to the top to eat and then back down to deck 5 to watch us sail away. Abe made sure to get the pictures he wanted!

front of the fortress/castle

We spent a little bit of time on the top deck watching the belly flop contest. Ouch! It is also the hottest day so far, so we spent some time in the pool.

It was like a car wreck that everyone had to watch! I think this is the most crowded I ever saw the decks.

Dinner was good, yet again. Abe and I love sitting down to eat anything we want, then when we are done we get to stand up and leave! Not only that, we then walk a short distance to another sort of entertainment. Tonight's show their was a vocal impersonator. He could sing and act like many famous singers. It was funny and energetic. I surprised myself, and Abe, by staying up later to see the 60 seconds or less game show. It had us laughing but was a little stale in between contests.
After our late night stroll around deck 4/5 we were off to bed.