San Juan 11-25-15

We arrived in port at 8 AM this morning to intermittent sun and showers.  This made it very humid.  We had no definite plans for here but the Kramer's had never been here before so we got off with them after breakfast.  Everyone decided that we would go to the fort at the top of the hill known by the US Department of Parks as Castillo San Cristobal.  Daina has a brace on her ankle and walking up hill is difficult so she and the girls and I got a cab.  Teresa, Bryan, Pat and the boys were already up there when we arrived.  It was another of those you can't get there from here things.

I can't believe I left my parks pass at home so we all pay the $5 to get in.  There are tunnels that go up to the top level as well as ramps that are almost straight up and daunting.  We all chose the tunnel first and got to what was really the second floor thinking we entered on the first floor.  This fort was started in 1634 and considering it is on the water has held up remarkably well.  You do need to be careful since some of the rock is crumbling making tripping much easier than usual.  We check out this level and take photos.  Most of this level is where the officers and soldiers lived.  Everyone migrated to the next level using the straight up ramp.  I had to work at it to get up there and of course by now it is getting really hot and the humidity was high.  There was a wonderful ocean breeze when you got up to the top.  The views were 360 degrees and gorgeous.  We check out the sentry boxes and observation towers and take lots of photos.  The next park was down a tunnel to where the prisoners were held.  It was so dark and crowded in there that Paige and I decided to get out.  The others caught up to us and we continued to an outdoor area.  Teresa and the kids decided to go down this long flight of stairs that led to another level.  Daina and I were there alone.  She decided to go down too and I said I was going into the building across the lawn that had stairs that led back to the entrance.  We parted and I went down and into a crowd.  I thought I would go back outside and wait for everyone to come out.  I walked across the street and sat on some moss covered steps in the shade with a group of other people waiting for the rest of their tour.  I sat there for 30 minutes waiting for someone, anyone to come out.  I am thinking "what could they possibly be doing all this time"?  Now remembering that we passed an exit on the first level that led to the street aside of the fort, I began thinking that I had missed them somehow.  I walked down the hill to the entrance area and sat on a bench there for another 30 minutes.  I could see the square a block away with kiosks and decided I would walk down there and see if they were there shopping....no sign of anyone.  Ok at this point I decide to go back to the ship because I had to have missed them somewhere.  It is so hot and I'm thirsty.  This city is not on a grid and although you can see the ships from where I am, there are no side street to cut through.  Finally I crossed the street and cut through a parking lot of a government building and then another to get back to the port.  I took some pictures and walked to the other end to see what ship had come in while we were gone.  I came back and went through security and they were checking photo ID's and I had the kids with me.  So I again sat down on a bench right inside where I could see the people as they were coming up to the gate.  By this time I am really dehydrated.  I sat there for another 20 minutes and finally got up and went to one of the agents and asked how old the children had to be before they needed a photo to get through and he said 18.  I decided to just go on and get back on the ship.  When I got to the cabin, Larry was in there cleaning and I told him to stay that I would wait on the balcony while he finished.  Ten minutes later the balcony door opens and the girls are crying, Lindsay is having an asthma attack because they were looking all over the fort for me and I was nowhere to be found.  They had security at the fort but stopped short of calling the San Juan Police which was a good thing.  Yikes...who would have thought.  I told Teresa what I did and that I had waited and that I had been to San Juan at least 10 times and she should have known I could find my way back to the ship.  Well, after Chris hugged me, he left.  We got the girls calmed down and went and got some lunch when Pat got back to the ship.  Teresa had left her at the fort in case I wasn't on the ship that she could tell them to call the police.  Geez Louise!

Teresa and Pat went to do the ropes course which was wild.  It is on the very top of the ship and it is always very windy up there but today the wind was really blowing.  They got up there right when it opened and didn't have to wait.  Paige was first and had done it several times before.  The guy working the course had to keep going to rescue people who would either get stuck because they couldn't reach the hold rope or they slipped of and were dangling by their harness.  After the ropes they went back to the cabin and changed into bathing suits to do the water slide.  I could hear them screaming from the time they left the top until they flew out sideways at the bottom!  They said it goes so fast and turns you because you are going through so fast.  Kevin and Chris were now on the ropes and I took a few photos of them and then headed back to the cabin.  Tonight is "Cruise Elegant" night again.

Lindsay, Paige and Sam went to the Ladies Pamper Party put on by the spa.  They came back raving about all the products they had used on them.  All of the Elemis products they use in the spa are extremely over priced and it just goes to show you how gullible kids are as they were telling me they wanted this $125 Marine Face Cream.....I don't spend that much on my own!  No we are not going to get that!

I was on the balcony watching us leave.  We were there with the Carnival Valor, MSC Divinia and the HAL Nieu Amsterdam arrived in the afternoon.  MSC left first, then the Valor, then we did and it was raining off and on and extremely windy again so the ship started rocking as soon as we left the harbor.

We were all showered and dressed and met in the lounge for the show which was just ok to me but the others really liked it.  Pat bought a bottle of wine since we were out at dinner and we had a nice relaxing dinner.  They were all off going to different things when we walked out of the dining room but we were heading down to the Ocean Plaza to listen to Deja Vu and the 80's party.  They were all having fun with Pat and Teresa leading the way but there was a little boy on the floor that was loving the girls and Lindsay, Page and Sam had fun with him.  Chris was there for a short while then back to the pub playing games.  I went back to the cabin to crash and the girls went to play games with the kids in the pub.

  I remember hearing them come in and get into bed.  An hour or so later we were rocking pretty good and Chris woke me up and said he needed something because he stomach was upset.  I got up and gave him a motion sickness pill and went back to bed.  Within 10 minutes I hear him get up and run to the bathroom.   Thank heavens he made it to the bathroom although it was everywhere in there, he barfed all over the entire area.  I got him cleaned up and back to bed and then was wondering how I would manage to clean up this mess and remain standing.  It took me the better part of half an hour to get it done.  By the time I got back to bed he was sound asleep and the girls never even work up during the entire mess.  I was asleep again soon since there was lots of motion in the ocean.

Ok so by day 5 we had lost a car, a cell phone, a child and a grandmother and had one lose his dinner.....I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Coming into San Juan...I have spots on my lens I can't get off!

The is looking back down the hill from the above photo



One of the many tunnels