Last Day - 4/6/24

April 06, 2024

I'm writing this pretty late and I'll probably be posting it tonight without a lot of the photos.

This morning we packed our bags and checked out of our AirBnB. Our flight was set to start boarding at 4:15 so we needed to get to the airport at 2:00.

But in the meantime we drove into San Juan and parked before walked to a place called Mallorca (a type of pastry) for breakfast. The food was fast and good enough which is what we were looking for that morning. Though I will never forgive them for giving me mini hot dogs as 'sausages'.

Anika Rating: 8/10

Once that was done we matched towards the castle, already starting to sweat in the sun. The concrete wasn't doing us any favors. It was probably the hottest weather all week though we weren't sure if that was because we were in San Juan or because it was just a hot day. Anyhow, we made it to the castle and looked around. So far Old San Juan was much more touristy, lots of the locals could speak English so there was less difficulty in communication.

And also they had this weird tunnel that looked like it led down into a dungeon but instead it went into an air conditioned gift shop/museum? It was totally weird, they didn't even really have an exhibit on the jail that was supposed to be there.

It was still amazing they'd preserved so much of the structure built in the 1600s. And fun fact, more was actually built onto this part of the fort for World War II in case there was an attack. They even had a Decontamination Room in case there was a biological warfare attack.

(Photo of a lot of coins left on this windowsill)

Once that was done we were already sweaty and it wasn't even noon yet so we stopped by a juice shop. I got a mango juice which came in a pouch which was pretty cool.

Once our juice break was done we made our way towards Fort Morro which we'd walked around yesterday but hadn't went in. But we got a little bit sidetracked and ended up walking down Fortaleza Street which was a shopping district and was supposed to have colorful umbrellas hanging from a part of it but it may just have been a seasonal thing because there were only yellow and orange banners hanging.

Also we saw a motorcade pass by twice who we think may have been the Governor since the Capital building is close by.

Once our exploration needs were fulfilled we got back on track to go for Fort Morro...and then we were distracted again by the Cathedral which was open (it hadn't been the two times we'd passed before)

Parts of the old brickwork was exposed in certain areas which we assumed was purposeful but when we asked the guide he said they were prepared to fully restore it but then Hurricane Maria hit and they didn't have the money to buy the rest of the resources so it's been left like this, it's still no doubt beautiful though even if it doesn't have as many stained glass windows as many of the others do.

It was getting closer to time and we were all sweaty and dreading climbing up the open hill to Fort Morro where no doubt it'd be hotter. So we made an executive decision to leave early, we wouldn't have had the time to go through much of the fort anyways. On our way out we stopped to get gas and drinks again (it was really hot) and I was finally able to get a soda I'd had my eyes on since I'd heard about it.

It was a coconut soda and you wouldn't expect it but it was really amazing, a bit sweet but I could 100% imagine drinking this on the beach.

Anika Rating: 9.8/10

Shortly after we made it to the airport. But before we checked our bags we had to get them USDA approved because they didn't want us carrying Swine Flu back into the country.

How unfortunate, I can't bring my whole roasted pig back to the U.S. with me. Anyways, other than that things went off without a hitch but we were still early so we went to grab something to eat...in Margaritaville.

Would not recommend, was way overpriced, Jimmy Buffet is stealing from us from beyond the grave. Also the food wasn't that good, it was more of a 'go there just to say you've gone' thing.

Anika Rating: 5/10

We boarded around 4:15, we took off at 5:30, as you may be able to tell there was a bit of a delay...but what matters is we got up there. We were all sitting separately again but I had no problems with the people sitting around me this time, leg cramps were my greatest trouble. But overall it was a great flight home.

But what I really want to talk about it the view flying back into DC. It wasn't the brightest lights or anything but you could see the orange rivers where streets were big enough that they warranted streetlights. Grocery stores and other social hubs were beacons of light. And then in the same view you could see the pale stars. It felt like when you see the slight difference in color between the sky and the sea even with all the differences. The stars seem utterly random while the street lights tend to be organized in groups around streets, the stars look white while most of the street lamps are orange, but it was brilliant looking on these natural and manmade troches of light. Humans mimic stars and you can really see that the most when you have a clear objective view of both at once.