July 18th - San Juan - Heat and Piña Coladas

 The weather was already 29C at 7:30 AM when we walked off the ship to check out the San Juan old town. Colorful little place that feels very much like Barcelona in a lot of ways. Lots of pastel colored buildings and old masonry. We walked along the path from the cruise port to the Fortelezza del Morro and pet some feral cats ("gattos") on the way. There were a lot of them, some were friendly and some kept their distance.









For Pieter, here's a "tropical" Sheraton hotel:


Apparently this is a mix of a girafe and a cat:



We walked around for a couple hours and saw the two 500 year old cathedrals/churches and the outside of the fortress. Tina didn't want to go into the Puerto Rican casinos. Maybe next time? The main gate into the old town is about 500 years old.



We returned to the ship to get some A/C and Piña Coladas, which were invented here 60 years ago. The crew was doing emergency drills throughout the late morning. Kinda bummed to find out our favourite pool area wasn't open yet at 10:30 so we'll check again later. I guess Piña Coladas, Blue Hawaiians, and Mimosas in the room will have to do for now. Tina ordered a hot dog and fries from room service.

At 11am went up to the Lido Deck for another hot dog and another Piña Colada.

Gringo Fuel:


We went back into town for a Piña Colada at one of the dingy cantinas or whatever they're called. Definitely better than the ones made with the mix, but not way better. We also saw a couple of macaus and a green parrot-like bird that a guy was putting on people's shoulders to get them to take a photo and get a tip. We once again didn't go into the Puerto Rican casino because Tina said that was a bad idea.




Back on the ship we ordered some room service snacks. The 24hr unlimited room service is nice, though can be slow depending on the time, though usually when we use it it is only 20-30 minutes.

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