Vacation & Travel: Exploring History in San Juan, Puerto Rico

A few months ago my husband and I along with several extended family members had the opportunity to take a vacation and we flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico.  (I know, I am a few months behind and trying to catch up on all the fun activities, trips, and events that have been going on this year.  Bare with me I hope to get there eventually).  The day we flew into San Juan we weren’t able to explore but we were able to see the city on the way back threw.  After several days of fun cruising on the Royal Caribbean’s, Serenade of the Seas we had the a few hours to explore San Juan, Puerto Rico.

We were able to see both the Old and New San Juan.   During our time in San Juan we were able to see and explore several historic landmarks such as the San Jose Church, the Governor’s Mansion, the Cristo Chapel, El Convento Hotel, visit the Condado section of New San Juan and we took a quick tour of Fort San Cristobal.

Jake and I thoroughly enjoyed walking through Fort San Cristobal.  It would have been awesome to take a guided tour through the fort to learn about all the history behind it but since time was limited we soaked in all the information we could as we toured the Fort with our group. Fort San Cristobal is a large fortress on the island of San Juan that was built by the Spanish starting in the mid 1600’s but not complete until late 1700’s.  The purpose of the fort was to protect San Juan from attacks.  Fort San Cristobal was approximately 27 acres and stretched along the edge of the city.  This fort was one of the biggest built in America by the Spanish.  The fort was built to not only protect the city from attack on sea but from attack by land as well.  I was impressed with the number of tunnels within the fort.  One of the oldest pieces of the fort is the “Garita del Diablo” (the Devil’s Sentry Box) because sentinels would disappear from this post over the sea.  The first shots of the Spanish – American War between Puerto Rico and a US Navy ship were fired by the cannons on top of Fort San Cristobal in 1898.

It was wonderful learning about all the history in San Juan while we were touring the city.  One of the neat parts about going on a cruise is we had a chance to visit a variety of different islands and learn about their history.  We were simply amazed and grateful for the time to soak in all the history in these islands.  San Juan was very fascinating, and like many of the other islands we visited, it would have been nice to stay a few days to learn more of the history and experience the culture.

The island of Puerto Rico is approximately 100 miles long and 35 miles wide with almost 4 million people.  It is nicknamed the “Island of Enchantment,” and has a modern multicultural society which has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Native American Tainos and United States.

Facts about the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico:

• Land Area:  47.5 square miles
• Water Area:  75.4 square miles
• Population:  420,326
• Density:  2,110 per square kilometer
• Housing Units:  182,101
• Per Capita Income:  $12,437

Another interesting fact of Puerto Rico – “While Puerto Rico is the oldest city under U.S. jurisdiction, most people consider St. Augustine, Florida the oldest city in the continental.”   Informational facts received from To Puerto Rico

I will be posting more pictures in a few days explaining and showing more about our adventures in San Juan.  It was a wonderful trip through the city filled with neat history.  The piece that made it more enjoyable is that we spent with with extended family.  What a blessing it is to have a chance to explore areas with family.

A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!