Kind of a sucky trip. Besides a series of mishaps (only the Saint Martin one is on this), spent most of it working so the below is what I fit in during the mornings.
Saturday, December 14th, 2019
ORD to FLL to San Juan, Puerto Rico
Checked into the hotel and started exploring Old San Juan.
On an island and originally surround by fortress walls, this colonial city of the Spanish empire dates to 1521.
Plaza de Armas
PR became a U.S. territory in 1950.
But it might was well be another country.
Paseo de la Princesa is a promenaede dating from 1853. Today it had a Christmas fair.
Built in 1635, Puerta de San Juan was the main gate to the walled city.
Parque Las Palomas is where they feed pigeons. That's right, it is OK to feed those vermin-with-wings who can carry up to 60 diseases (learned that from Mike Rowe).
San Juan Bautista Cathedral
Built in 1540 and still needs a lot of restoration.
Fortaleza is the oldest executive residence in the New World.
Well, that was the first time getting bakery from the back of a pickup truck.
On the north side looking down towards the harbor.
President Lincoln!
Plaza Colon
Ambling about town as dusk fell.
Dinner at Verde Mesa. Superb service.
Swordfish with dried fruit escabeche, local root vegetables, roasted greens and coconut miso sauce. Fantastic!
Good night.
Sunday, December 15th, 2019
Morning run. Place to myself.
Along the harbor, um, needs a touch of cleaning.
You know I have that tradition of self-timer pictures in front of state capitals? Well, not a state, but that is El Capitolio.
Pretty much the same as runs in Wisconsin.
Off to breakfast.
La Bombonera is PR's 3rd oldest restaurant.
It was opened by a Spanish immigrant in 1902.
A semi-sweet and pillowy softy mallorca cut open, filled with Swiss cheese and ham and grilled. Nothing wrong with this!
So artistic.
Casa Blanco was built for famed explorer and the first Governor of Puerto Rico, Ponce de Leon, in 1521.
But he died in Florida before it was finished so it went to his family. Later it was used by the Spanish and then even later American military.
The views back then were probably different....
These now beautiful vistas up to Castillo San Felipe del Morro were to provide no cover for attacking enemies. On these green fields hundreds of foreign soldiers perished.
El Morro protected San Juan from the west. As the first large island coming from Europe, Puerto Rico was of great military importance in protecting the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean.
Massive walls to the west could withstand cannon.
And protected their own cannons.
Just imagine the toil to build and maintain all of this.
They had to pull canon up this ramp.
Kitchens.
Plaza de Armas from above.
Plaza de Armas was the central courtyard....
...circled by barracks, kitchens, a chapel and officers' quarters.
Starting the walk to the next fortress.
Looking back, bye bye El Morro.
This is a neighborhood you don't want to stroll.
Castillo de San Cristóbal is the fortress protecting San Juan from land attack from the east. This is the west end of it.
This is the center.
And this is the eastern end. See, kinda big.
This courtyard was circled by kitchens, barracks, storehouses and souvenir shops. Oh, wait, that last one is for now.
Imagine these sleeping quarters. Tropical climate, no AC, no showers.
To the west looking at Old San Juan.
Looking east from a turret added during WWII.
El Morro in the horizon.
This is the strip mall where they got coffee and paninis.
Making my way to the eastern defenses.
One of three underground tunnels.
As I was making my way down a staircase took the turn and came across this guy. "You first", I gracefully offered with a sweep of a hand. He looked at me a beat and kept going.
Another field lies between the first line of defense and the main fortress.
El Albanico was the first line of defense.
It's surrounded by a dry moat.
Lunch at El Jibarito.
Blood sausage, a favorite since the south of England many years ago, and Sancocho, a stew originated in Spanish colonial times.
That Burger King dates to 1862, the oldest restaurant in PR.
"Look up", is what I always think.
That is where you are more likely to see vestiges of the past.
Fresa kiwi. Chatted with the guy in there about taxes. Sales tax in PR is 11%.
Monday, December 16th, 2019
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands looks nice enough from the harbor.
Yeah, not so much.
Started drizzling which prompted....
Fort Christian was built by Norway and Denmark.
Emancipation Garden celebrates the freeing of slaves.
99 steps. I counted 102. Anyway, this hilly town had steps built by the Danes using bricks that were ballasts in the ships.
Decided to take a short cut down the hill. Well, what do they say about the road less traveled?
Realtor listing is a fixer upper.
Always imagine to get myself into the best neighborhoods around the world.
Bakery!
Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas is the second oldest in the western hemisphere.
Just kept zigzagging the back streets pondering the low standard of living across the globe.
A random truck on a corner selling fresh seafood.
Imagine the past splendor. Now the town just looks like a third world country.
The waterfront.
Took the cable car to....
...Paradise Point to get an aerial view of this end of St. Thomas.
Wrapped it up at 11AM and spent the rest of the afternoon and night working.
Tuesday, December 17th, 2019
The dual nation island: Saint Martin on the north is French and Sint Maarten on the south is Dutch.
Picked up the rental car in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten and..
...headed southwest.
Maho is the town anchoring...
....the well-known airport with a beach at the end of its runway.
It was 9:15AM and sunbathers/plane watchers were just starting to arrive.
Waited for a plane to land.
But had to settle for one taking off. My panning just missed a couple being blown over that ledge from the jet blast. Witnessing that and the sand plumes was something.
Saw a lot of examples of the hurricane damage.
Headed to Marigot on the western cost with the plan being to check it out before looping north to northeast to spend the afternoon at the mile plus long famed Orient Beach snorkeling and um, evaluating this clothing optional stretch of sand. Radio reports had spoken of peaceful protests in Marigot. Seeing this overturned and burned out car and down the road behind it overturned dumpsters I speculated what peaceful means to them. Checking GPS there was one other road to head north through Marigot and onward to Orient Beach.
And this is that road.
Headed back south to pivot to through the center of the island.
It was a twisty turny roads going over mountains and through towns of a lower standard of living.
Scenic overlook of Indigo Bay.
Driving through more affluent towns.
Then there was a detour. Oh, this is going wonderfully. Couldn't get other pics of this detour from trying not to bottom out the car.
Made it to the 'main' road that goes to Orient Beach, to find it blocked with stacks of debris and guarded by fellas whose gaze prevented me from even taking a pic. Wondering if I could go around a lesser traveled route followed the coastal road and seeing this thought I was brilliant.
Yeah, 7 kilometers to admire the clothing optional scenery at Orient Beach.
Crud. Well, just go around it.
Another kilometer.
Easy one, go between the tires.
Few more blocks. This one required a tire going up on the sidewalk to the right and ignoring the threatening gaze of a group standing guard.
5 kilometers away. Had to give up. Later a radio ad said 80% of their economy is dependent on tourism and between this and the deplorable towns...why go.
Tried a beach on the Dutch side and this is the road. That beach was inaccessible.
After trying one more beach headed back to turn in the car 4 hours early.
And then took a water taxi to Philipsburg.
And walked the beach.
Worked for the rest of the day.
Wednesday, December 18th, 2019
St. Kitts
Time to see what Basseterre is about.
Certainly is another standard of living.
Independence Park and Immaculate Conception Catholic Co-Cathedral
The Circus roundabout is supposed to be modeled after London's Piccadilly Circus....hmmmm...not seeing the resemblance.
Heading north out of town along the west coast.
A curve yielded a distant view of Brimstone Fortress.
Small villages mirrored each other in poorly kept buildings.
Into the rainforest.
Back on the coast.
Getting closer to Brimstone Fortress.
The British built this 15 acre military installation starting in 1690.
The scope is staggering.
It is a UNESCO site.
The ruins of the officers' barracks.
Double back south, through Basseterre and to the end of the island to find it quite nice.
Atlantic, St. Nevis and Caribbean
December 19th, 2019
St. Lucia
Castries is the main town on this country island. Started out at the market.
And started walking around town successfully ignoring the scornful gazes, yelling and thrown profanities.
Usually I'd be like, "bakery!" But just kept walking holding on to valuables.
This was the food court area.
You should know where your meat comes from.
Everywhere you turn is someone selling.
Time to get out of Castries to head south down the west coast.
The island's only college is housed in 1800s British barracks.
The twisty mountainous roads were lined with views of another standard of living.
Hey look, a Peugeot dealer!
Marigot Bay
Bananas replaced sugar cane as the island's crop. They go to the United Kingdom. I had one. Tastes like a banana.
Down in a valley along the water is Anse la Raye.
An old fishing village with visual overload.
Hey fellas, what's the catch of the day?
You think of all the grand cathedrals across Europe and wonder if this place of worship any different.
The interior of the island is a rainforest.
Know what this big pod is? Cacaoa. This is where chocolate comes from. It is very sweet.
The famed pitons of St. Kitts.
Just east of those is a drive-in volcano with mud baths and steaming sulfur.
Soufriere
Canaries
Back in Castries and then to work for the afternoon and evening. Hence why I didn't see more.
Friday, December 20th, 2019
Country #33. Barbados.
Guess who grew up in the yellow house? Rihanna.
Driving up the western coast the homes transitioned...
...to a tad higher end once you got to the aptly named Platinum Coast.
Holetown
Speightstown
Multi-million dollar condos for yacht owners.
Heading inland.
Looking to the Atlantic.
Driving along the Atlantic coast.
Bathsheba
St. John's Parish dates to the 1600s.
It was destroyed by hurricanes in 1675 and 1780. Today's structure is from 1836.
Sure looks older.
The graveyard behind it has dates going back centuries.
The view from the church.
More of driving around.
In Bridgetown the first stop was the Fish Market. Oh yeah, there was an odor there.
Sashimi!
Going into Careenage.
This is the area along the waterfront and river.
Then back across into Bridgetown's center to dive into the hustle and bustle.
Street vendors everywhere.
Everywhere I turned activity.
This is how it should be without strip malls, mega marts and box stores.
Pedestrian Swan Street was a delight.
Just so dense in shopper and sellers.
See the girl waving? If I would have noticed I would have went and talked to her.
Broad Street is the main drag.
What a fantastic looking building.
Yet another market.
The bus stop was happening!
Buh bye Barbados. Have to go work for the afternoon and night.
Sunday, December 22nd, 2019
Doing a loop to see the eastern portion of Puerto Rico.
The road through El Yunque National Forest.
This National Park is part of the rainforest on the island.
With an altitude of up to 3,400 feet you get views of the Atlantic to the north.
The vegetation is certainly lush.
Yokahu Observation Tower was built in 1963.
Out of the National Park and after navigating some very twisty roads was a few degrees off the beaten path.
Some more of those pot holed filled twisty roads and onto the interstate. I kid you not. This is the interstate.
And then navigating country roads through the eastern central part of PR and back to the airport.
Making the way back home.
Monday, December 23rd, 2019
3AM, home.
