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I had the good fortune to receive some specifics regarding the folks participating in the reenactment.
As it turns out, there IS a local group that stages reenactment exercises, right here in Puerto Rico.
Regimiento Fijo de Puerto Rico was formed in 2005.
The group has a very large, very tasteful Website (in Spanish and English). If you are a history buff, you’ll want to check it out. Nice job José. [Read more…] about British Battle of 1797 Reenactment Update
A Reenactment of the 1797 Attack on San Juan by the Brits
The US National Parks Service that runs El Morro and Fort San Cristóbal staged quite a show. El Morro is the perfect venue for a reenactment. Something I wish they did more often. I’m surprised it’s not something they do on a regular basis.
The crowd loves this kind of stuff… kids go home and tell their friends about how awesome it was. Then those kids pester their parents to go see Puerto Rico instead of the Grand Canyon. I know El Morro is a huge ‘crowd-draw’ in its own right, but how do you differentiate yourself from all the other old Spanish forts spread across the Caribbean?
And where are the Pirates? Arrggg!!!
This event was scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We hit it on Friday since we needed to run back by Jayuya on Saturday, the weather was supposed to go bad by Sunday. It did. As we like to do, we drove to the ferry terminal in Cataño where the parking is better, then ride the ferry into Old San Juan. [Read more…] about San Juan- The British have landed
We hooked up with the San Juan Photo & Social Club for a stroll through a part of Old San Juan most folks never see. East Old San Juan is home to the Sixto Escobar Stadium, the Parque Muñoz Rivera, (Old) San Juan Beach and the Escambron surf lookout.
It was a beautiful morning, not too hot or humid.
We started at the Surf Lookout featured in the pano shot. The view from there is strictly long telephoto. The surfers have to paddle out past the rocky shore to surf so they never make it in very close. The small public beach (with public facilities) to the right of the surfers was crowded with locals out working on their tans or playing in the water. Looked like fun to me.
We headed over to the Luis Muñoz Rivera Park where as luck would have it, a weekend Artesano fair with live entertainment was going on. [Read more…] about Sunday Morning in East Old San Juan
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the 12th annual event is billed as the world’s largest auto mall show, featuring a vast assortment of cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, hybrids, dragsters, ATVs and motor bikes. All under one roof with an estimated crowd draw of over 1,000,000 folks spread over 2 weeks. This year, it runs from October 18th through the 31st.
Its worth noting that for a mall of over 40 years old, you would never know it by its general appearance. Immaculately maintained and continuously updated, it is a jewel in the crown of San Juan. It reminds me of the main mall in Honolulu. Just as upscale, but not quite as pretentious.
If you were ‘born to shop’, you’ll love it here.
I took the opportunity to check out a quad-core 27″ iMac at one of the few Apple Resellers on the island as well as the Sony Style store (I shoot with Sony Alpha). I was not here to shop per se, but to scope out the car show.
We were there on Sunday, October 24th.
This mall always has a crowd and Sunday was no different. Folks from all walks of life were there to checkout the new rides on display. It made for a very festive atmosphere. [Read more…] about PR International Auto Show 2010 (PRIAS)
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El Morro and Old Town from an Open Trolley…
This Post and Video is related to a quick trip into San Juan for family visiting from the ‘mainland’, back before the San Blas Marathon.
Because parking is sooo ridiculous in Old San Juan, we started with the Bacardi tour in Cataño and then parked at the ferry terminal for the ride across the bay into old town. 
The run out to the nearby Bacardi facility is worth the ride, but I’ve been there several times now so I don’t need to do it again anytime soon. At the end of the movie presentation, I was polite and kept my mouth shut when they asked for questions.
I have two –
Where do they get the sugar (or molasses) to make their rum and –
why did they relocate their world corporate headquarters to the Bahamas? BTW – I already gave the Bacardi Tour a 5 Skulls rating in my previous post about Old San Juan, just so ya know.
Once we hit Pier 2,
we walked around the old cobblestone streets and slowly made our way to ‘El Morro’. There are lots of concession stands down by the docks where the cruise ships come in selling all the standard tourist type stuff. On my first trip,
I walked around the outside wall of the fort, but never made it inside.
It was too hot and way too much walking for this old dog. All of that was covered very thoroughly in my first Post about Old San Juan.
We were there on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, hoping the crowds would be at a minimum. We were mistaken. When I was here back in late August and early September, I pretty much had the place to myself… not now. Come to Puerto Rico during the winter months and it will be crowded.
The Castillo San Felipe del Morro National Historical Site
Known simply as ‘El Morro’ by the locals. There was a small cover charge to go inside, but its worth it. The price includes a nifty black & white self-guided walking-tour (in English and Spanish). Fort construction began in 1539 after the Spanish abandoned their first site at Caparra. 
It took another 250 years before it got to what it looks like now. The second fort just up the road, San Cristobal was built to protect the city. I have yet to visit it, though you can see us run past it in the video. There were several small organized tours going on at the time we were there. One group showed up on a bunch of Segways! I bet that was a lot of fun. I took my time shooting the inside of the fort. The late afternoon sun made all the textures pop out. There was a good breeze up on top where the fortified lighthouse is along with a nice view of the surrounding area.
We retreated from the fort along the route of the trolley shuttles. Its free to ride, if you can get on one. By walking down a ways to Stop 24, we were able to score a seat. This meant we were heading back to El Morro, but who cares, we were off our feet now. 
The open trolley we were on runs all the way up to the gate at El Morro, but the closed, air conditioned one does not. Something else you can see in the video: They both make the run from El Morro through Old San Juan, all the way down to the docks. We are only talking a half dozen blocks, but its all up and down hill. Not too bad if you are in shape and have good shoes. They badly need more than the 2 trolleys I saw.
We made our way back to Pier 2 for the ferry ride back to Cataño. It was full of folks getting off work and local families heading home for the day. From there, we drove back to Coamo.
About the video: It was shot with my VadoHD, hand held out the side of the trolley. The old cobblestone streets made it a very bumpy ride so some of it suffers from the ‘jitters’. Sorry about that.
The video’s background music is courtesy of The Free Music Archive which has made my work fun! I appreciate these guys!