- 500 years ago, this was an impenetrable fortified city.
Today, It's the capital of one of the most
stunning destinations in the Caribbean.
There's three things I want to share
with you about my recent trip.
So, welcome to San Juan, in Puerto Rico.
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So I spent time in San Juan,
in Puerto Rico just before the pandemic.
And there's some things I want to share
with you today that go beyond the usual top things to do.
These are really reflections about this place.
Before starting,
Let me just say that Puerto Rico as a country,
has a lot to offer, it's much more than San Juan.
It has really rich history and culture,
amazing food, pristine beaches,
(birds chirping)
impressive mountains, sensational weather,
relaxation, adventures,
and everything in one little Caribbean paradise.
But today, I just want us to stay in the capital,
in San Juan
And as always, I'll share my experience in three parts.
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For me, this is the first place we have to visit,
once arriving to the city.
The old San Juan or "El Viejo San Juan"
is essentially a stunning and perfectly
preserved colonial village.
There's a lot of tourists here.
Yes, but you know, it's interesting.
Most of them are from Puerto Rico itself.
I do speak Spanish.
Then I could recognize the accent.
And I was actually impressed
by the number of Puerto Rican tourists.
(cheerful music)
Think about it.
If we visit our own country,
then the place we go must be really amazing, right?
So we went straight away to Plaza Colon in San Juan.
A great place to get a flavor
of the history of Puerto Rico under the Spanish Crown.
In fact, in the center of this square,
they have a monument of Christopher Columbus.
As we followed the traces of the old wall,
which protected the capital,
We passed San Cristobal Fort.
And again, it was built by the Spanish to protect
against any potential attack.
To this day, that's one of the largest fortifications,
that Spain ever constructed in the new world.
Then we crossed Calle De La Fortaleza, to take a look
at the amazing colorful buildings in San Juan.
This was actually a good moment for us,
because you know, before going into San Juan
and you do your own little research.
You always see these colorful buildings, okay.
This was the place.
We took advantage.
And we went to this place called Chocobar.
A local person recommended this to us.
And it's in fact,
a fourth generation family owned chocolate shop.
We also bought some stuff in the supermarket and
I was shocked by the size of the products,
like super, super big size.
If you come from the U.S. probably might be normal
for you to see a 2 liter orange juice,
or 3 liter milk, or industrial size butter.
I guess for me being based
in the UK and Europe it's probably less common.
On the other hand, I get it.
It's probably better to buy this way,
for big families to save money.
But I'd love to hear from you, if that's the real reason,
because I really don't know why everything is so big.
Eventually after that, we arrived at the old Bastion area.
It was interesting, there was a random live concert.
So we stayed there for a while
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We tried some local food and enjoyed the local vibe,
the music, and yeah, just had fun.
We also visited the Totem
a magnificent obelisk constructed in memory
of the Indigenous people of the island.
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And the final big stop was this castle called
Castillo San Felipe Del Morro.
Essentially a fort constructed to protect the island
from different attacks.
And this became the flagship of San Juan itself.
(upbeat music)
(somber music)
When the night comes, we can choose to stay
in the Old San Juan, which we also did for a few nights.
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Or, we can go to a super local place for a little dance
This is "La Placita"
This is definitely not a tourist area,
but highly recommended.
Okay.
First of all, if we want just to have a drink and a chat
with friends and stuff, this is not the best place.
This is super loud.
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People dance everywhere.
Even on the streets.
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This is a place for party.
By 7:00 PM, the place is packed with people from all ages.
Everyone is dressed up, drinks in hand,
shouting over the music,
dancing in different bars and so on.
It's really, really cool.
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The interesting fact is that during the day,
this is actually a market square.
So there's a farmer's market,
bars, a bunch of restaurants.
And at night it's like a transformation.
Like this is the place where locals get some street food,
drinks, and live salsa music and dancing in the square
till the early morning hours.
"La Placita" is also the place
to participate in or watch salsa dancing competitions.
(upbeat music)
Perhaps the final observation I have here is
that if we plan to take Uber,
most likely it will be canceled.
As streets are very narrow and it's such a busy place
that meeting the driver is very, very challenging.
So for us taking a taxi instead was the best option.
And because it's a really busy place in the night
it's always worth keeping our eyes open,
and staying aware of our surroundings.
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♪ Think about me one more time before you go. ♪
As you know both Spanish and English are
the official languages of Puerto Rico, but Spanish is
without a doubt, the dominant language.
Please do not assume that,
since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory,
everyone is fluent in English.
Most people I met actually didn't speak English fluently.
And some didn't even understand.
Of course, if we go to a tourist location, activity,
fancy restaurant, hotels and stuff, they will speak English.
So my recommendation or observation, if we want to get out
of these resorts and experience something
more local is to learn few words and sentences in Spanish
♪ You're gone, ♪
I think it's important to know that,
while Puerto Rico is legally a part,
of the U.S., it's culturally part
of the Spanish speaking world.
And particularly connected to the Caribbean roots.
If we don't know Spanish at all,
I strongly recommend to invest few dollars
in a pocket Spanish-English dictionary before we go.
Or Duolingo or whatever app we might be comfortable with.
Saying "gracias" is always a good thing.
And if we don't know how to break the ice,
we can talk about sports.
They love baseball, basketball, football, and even boxing.
So from my experience making the effort to speak,
at least few sentences in the local language will help us
and help them have a better time.
(calm music)
If you liked this video, you may also want to
check some other videos I have in the Caribbean islands.
And if you're enjoying the content,
my vibe and what you see
please consider subscribing to the channel.
So I can keep making these videos every week.
Thanks for watching and see you next time.
(soft music)
Do I talk too much about languages?
Hmm.
Maybe yes.
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