Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Many of the streets in Old San Juan, the part of the city that was originally enclosed by the Wall, are narrow and hilly. They are covered by adoquine, a blue stone cast from furnace slag.  The stones were brought to San Juan as ballast on Spanish ships in the 1700s. They were first used as road pavers in 1784. I have seen cobblestone streets in Charleston, Nantucket, and a few other places, but never anything like this. The streets  are much bluer than my camera was able to capture. Amazing.

Remember that Jimmy Webb song: If These Old Walls Could Speak ? Castillo San Felipe del Morro  is a 400 year old fortress in San Juan.  It helped keep all invaders away, and was used by the United States in World War I and  II.  After the US military left in 1961, it became a historic site. It is ancient and steeped in history. We don't usually have photos of ourselves here.  This was necessary, however, to prove to the unbelievers that we climbed all the way to the top of the fort.  It was a windy day, but we could see forever from there.

In 1630, construction on La Muralla--the Wall, began.  The wall took 200 years and a lot of slave lives to build.  It was financed by taxes levied in other parts of the Spanish empire.  When completed, it encircled the entire city of San Juan. The wall limited growth of the city, and people living outside the wall wanted it torn down.  In May of 1897, Queen Maria Christina issued a proclamation to begin demolition of the wall.  Parts of it were torn down to allow the city to spread.  The wall is best seen from the sea.  These photos were taken as we were leaving on the cruise ship. The last two photos were taken during a pouring rainstorm.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, was founded in 1521 by Juan Ponce de Leon.  It is an old, old city.  It is also a beautiful, modern city. The city has a free trolley system that covers all the city.  The photo above includes Trolley Stop 15.  No tickets required, and you can get off and on at any trolley stop. Can you see the wall in the photo above?  More about that later.