Old San Juan, Puerto Rico {Travelogue}

Hey, guys! As most of you know, I went with my mom to Puerto Rico last month on vacation as well as to visit family. I also went for Latin Urban singer Yandel‘s concert. You can read all about the concert here.

I have a lot of pictures of Puerto Rico even though my stay was relatively short. A week was simply not enough to enjoy my beautiful island, but we made the most of it. There were several places we didn’t get a chance to visit. One of those being the beach. I know, the first thing that comes to mind when talking about Puerto Rico are the beaches. I was sad I didn’t have enough time to spend at least a day there, but I hope to go back soon.

I decided to break up the posts so I can post a few more pics and not make them too long by cramming them into one post (even though this post has a lot of pics!). In this one, I will share pictures of Old San Juan. Old San Juan is one of my favorite areas in Puerto Rico and one I visit every time I’m there. We have this tradition of visiting Old San Juan as soon as we land in Puerto Rico, and this time was no exception. We drove straight from the airport and later revisited a few more times during our stay.

Here is a little info* on Puerto Rico and Old San Juan before I share some of the pics with you.

1. Spanish and English are the official languages; most Puerto Ricans speak English.
2. Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth and the U.S. dollar is the official currency; U.S. citizens don’t need a passport or a currency converter.
3. El Yunque is the only subtropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service.
4. More than 70% of the rum sold in the U.S. comes from Puerto Rico. You can tour the Bacardi distillery for free!
5. Puerto Rico houses the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, spanning almost 20 acres.
6. Bioluminescence exists around the world, but there are only a few biobays on our planet. Puerto Rico has three of them!
7. Old San Juan was founded in 1509 and became a walled city protected by multiple forts. It guarded an important entrance into the Spanish Main, and withstood multiple attacks by the British and Dutch (some partially successful). It was considered the Gibraltar of the West Indies. Due to its military significance, the government kept the growing population within the city walls until 1897, when a few bastions were demolished. The forts received some naval bombardment from US naval ships during the Spanish American War (1898). Much of the district’s architecturally historic fabric is intact, including the impressive fortifications.
8. Old San Juan has two forts: Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal.
9. Old San Juan was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and declared a National Historic Landmark in March 2013
10. La Fortaleza (official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico) and the San Juan National Historic Site were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

*Info obtained from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Sure, I know all of this and I could’ve told you the same thing, but they condensed it which makes it easier for me. I would’ve written a whole post on the history & facts alone! LOL

Streets of Old San Juan

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Castillo San Cristóbal

 Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for more Puerto Rico posts!