According to The lonely Planet guide the country was established in 1521. San Juan is the second oldest European founded settlement in the Americas and the oldest under US jurisdiction. Shoehorned onto a tiny islet guarding the entrance to San Juan harbour, the atmospheric ‘Old City’ juxtaposes historical authenticity with pulsating modern energy. The old city still has its forts, 15' thick city walls and narrow streets.
We settled in and then went for a little walk, we are two minutes from the beach, so we had a romantic stroll along the beach, well Linda did, she went in the water and was paddling happily. It is quite windy so you cannot go out too far other wise the current will take you to Cuba. There are a lack of coffee shops, but we found Starbucks and had a rest before we walked back to our room. Linda decided she wanted to try the hot tub out, but I needed some exercise, so went for a run. It was quite difficult in the heat, but managed 5 miles. I then needed a shower, which as there was no hot water turned out to be a cold one. The good thing as it is so warm I can wash my running gear and dry it outside. Our hotel is in Condado, 3 miles from the old city of San Juan. It is the main tourist area so plenty of restaurants, we walked past most of them and checked the menu. Linda finally found one she liked and as it was still warm we sat outside. It was an Italian restaurant so Linda was able to have pasta, I went for the tuna salad. This was tuna with lettuce and baked mango, very nice. No alcohol or deserts as I still living healthily.
I was up early Saturday morning, thinking it was would be cooler then to run. However, the temperature does not seem to change much, it is constantly in the 80's. I managed to complete 4 miles in the other direction from the hotel this time. I was then ready for breakfast, but first had to wake Linda up, she hadn't missed me or realised I had gone out.
We decided to visit the old city today and get the bus. We waited at the bus stop, it said they ran every 30 minutes, but which 30 minutes! One bus stopped, wrong number of course, and we asked "when does the number 21 come", the answer "I don't know but when it comes it does pass this way." We decided to walk to the next bus stop, then the one after and when we reached the third one the bus was coming. It was 75c to get into the town. We then had a walk around the town, it was warm today, but we wandered around seeing the sights, the various churches, forts and went to the top and saw El Morro. It was quite tiring and Linda needed a coffee so we found a beautiful coffee shop, which did the best coffee on the island, Don Ruiz. It was a great cup of coffee, much better than Starbucks, full of flavour and style, in a proper cup.
After this we decided to walk back, as waiting for the bus was too much hassle. It was a couple of miles, but we made it back, Linda did need to stop for refreshment at Ben and Jerry's. They actually make the waffle cones for your order as you wait. We then had a walk along the beach back to the hotel. We had covered 7 miles today walking, plenty of exercise. It was a different restaurant for dinner, Linda had pasta with chicken and plantains, I had the local seafood dish, which was rice, seafood and a sauce. It was very nice.
Sunday was Linda's birthday, I am not allowed to mention ages at all on the blog. I celebrated by getting up early and going for another 4 mile run. The weather is warm but wet today, I came back looking like a drowned rat! After breakfast we went for a walk on the beach and paddle in the water. Linda then wanted to have a look at the cruise ships, so it was a long walk back into the old town to see the ships. We wandered around and then needed a coffee, so back to Don Ruiz for excellent coffee. We had a free ride on the trolley bus seeing all the sights (again) and ended up at the bus station. We then waited for the bus, it eventually came and we arrived back in Condado, Linda wanted another ice cream so we went to Haagen Dazs. After this we traipsed back to the hotel for a rest. The hot tub was out of action so Linda went for a swim in the hotel pool instead. Dinner tonight was at an Argentinian steak house, Linda had chicken with jacket potato, I had the mixed grill which was lovely.
Monday was our last day, so to celebrate I was up at 0630 and out for a run, I ran to the old town, round the various forts and piers and back to the hotel, a total of 8 miles, I must have run off the mixed grill by now. I have run 43 miles so far this holiday, plus walked 30 miles, that's not including any cycling or cross training I do at the gym. It was hot running and I had to stop to buy more water. Linda missed the opportunity to join me, she was still asleep!
As it was sunny and warm we decided to sit on the beach, we had to hire a couple of sun beds and then relaxed. Linda went swimming and spent most of the day in the water, I turned round once and she was chatting to some bloke. I was not worried he was not as fit looking as I am now! I had a coconut to drink and also did the coffee run to Starbucks. We stayed there for about four hours, not realising how strong the sun was, Linda is very red, like a lobster, I was not too bad a couple of red patches, mainly on my ankles. In the evening we went back to the first restaurant and I had the tuna salad again, Linda had chicken in a three cheese sauce. It was back to the hotel to pack the bags and have an early night, we have to be up at 4am to get ready to leave at 5am for the airport. Our flight is at 0725 to Orlando, we have a couple of hours stop over there before a midday flight to New Orleans.