San Juan, Puerto Rico was our last stop and also the highlight of the cruise. First time we visited San Juan was on our Caribbean cruise many years ago. We look forward to re-visit the San Juan Old Town and its National Historic Site.
The cruise port is a short walking distance to Old Town San Juan. It was a long day as we planned to see as many attractions in San Juan as possible including the La Fortaleza, San Juan historic district as well as historic forts of San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal.
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Raices Fountain of Old San Juan, also known as the Roots Fountain on the Paseo de la Princesa where we start self walking tour of the historical section of San Juan.
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La Fortaleza, along with fortifications of Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal, were built to protect the city and the Bay of San Juan. La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site is UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 | La Fortaleza overlooking the Bay of San Juan.
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| Enjoying a stroll along San Juan's beautiful promenade. |
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| Paseo De La Princesa. |
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| Paseo de la Princesa promenade. |
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The Bay of San Juan in the Caribbean Sea.
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Entrance to San Juan historical center.
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| Strolling the hilly street leading to San Juan historic center. |
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| The Convent of San Juan Bautista Cathedral, across from the cathedral. |
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Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in Old San Juan, the oldest cathedral in the United States .
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The sanctuary.
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Statue of Christ in the cathedral.
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| Tomb of Ponce de Leon in San Juan Bautista Cathedral. |
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| Calle Fortaleza known as "Umbrella" street with the Governor's Mansion at the end of street. |
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"Rainbow" houses with colonial, cobblestone streets in Old San Juan.
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Calle del Cristo, the oldest street in Old San Juan. The Chapel of Christ is at the end of the street.
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| Chapel of Christ/ Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud in the Old San Juan. |
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| Las Palomas Park. |
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Pigeons (Las Palomas) Park.
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San Jose Church, a historic church in the colonial zone, one of the earliest surviving example of Spanish Gothic architecture in the Western hemisphere. It's on the list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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| El Totem Telurico and Quincentennial Plaza in the northern point of Old San Juan. |
From Quincentennial Plaza we walked down toward ocean front to search for a lunch location. One could see some of recent hurricane's damage to the area near the waterfront. We found a nice and cozy local restaurant that serve tradition Puerto Rican dishes for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal.
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L& T.
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P & A.
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The last night dinner.
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| With our head waiter, Vangie and her help. |
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| As always, Vangie made sure we had "all" dessert items from the menu. |
Our week-long cruise came to a close when the Caribbean Princess returned to dock at Ft. Lauderdale Port. We had a wonderful time in the Caribbean sun and sea. It's a perfect cruise for the Ngo's sibling reunion !. The smooth sailing, amazing ports of call, delicous food, enjoyable entertainment and last but not least, the great time with each other's company, made this cruise a memorable one.
We look forward to our next siblings' cruise as we said "goodbye" for now. Hopefully, more of us siblings can join in next time.
Thank you, P.A,T & L. for coming out and cruising with us. See you again next time!. The Caribbean is waiting...
*****
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