Today we woke up early in the morning. Well we woke up really early for a long two and a half hour drive to San Juan. Usually you can make it to san Juan faster but it took extra long because we ran into heavy traffic. Once we arrived in San Juan, we took more time looking for a parking space. Pretty difficult. After we managed to find parking, we were treated to the sights and sounds of San Juan...in heavy rain. Haha! It doesn't get any worse right?! Well we were almost going to cancel on the walk around tour.But of course our group was not about to give up after that long drive and effort we made to get up, so we put on our ponchos and stepped into the rain. Yeww!
So the first sight we were treated to was the port. There we viewed many tourists and cruise ships that were docked at the port. It was really cool seeing the giant ships and I quickly grabbed my camera and took some shots. After that we headed in town where we were able to view the old Spanish architecture all around. The city is a really beautiful place and the rain didn't take away from that one bit. Also on our way we saw a local artist selling some of his artwork prints. I bought some stickers to take back and got picture of the artist! Next we headed for El Morro the fort on the coasts edge that is one of Puerto Rico's trademark monuments. On the way to El Morro we were getting hungry for lunch so we headed to the town square to look for a place to eat. Along the way, we found a flock of pigeons that were so tamed, they would eat out of people's hands. I got to try and feed them and it was so cool because the two on my hand were pidgeon fighting over the food. It was like a handheld bird fight! LOL!
After lunch, we passed by the old Cathedral and took some pictures. Then we continued our walk towards El Morro. When we arrived at the fort I took some portraits of the group and also a group shot. In front of the fort is a huge grassfield where school children fly kites. We chose to relax in this green field filled with picnics and kites. Once we had enough fresh air, we headed into the fortress.
Fort San Felipe Del Morro is a 16th century citadel located on the northwestern-most point of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The fort, also known as "El Morro" or "promontory", was designed to guard the entrance to San Juan bay, and defend the city of San Juan from seaborne enemies. In 1983 the fort was made a world heritage site by the United Nations and today it is one Puerto Rico's most visited attractions. As we walked through the fort we really could feel the history of the place. I felt that the fortress was kind of like a maze, filled with cannons and windows looking out to sea. I was lucky because I was able to catch a bunch of shots of the place with few people getting in the way. When we first arrived there was whole group of tourist and school children all over but as we started walking around the crowds quickly dwindled down making for great photo opportunities of the place. For one shot I walked out towards the edge of the wall in order to take the shot of the trademark symbol of San Juan. Then I heard on the PA that visitors need to stay away from the eges. Woops. I think they saw me. I quickly backed away and sneaked off hoping no one noticed me. Still definitely worth the shot! :D After our tour of Fort San Juan, we quickly rushed to our next destination, UPR's Rio Piedras experiment station: Insect Museum.
The UPR's Rio Pedras Experiment Station Insect Museum is the largest collection. The collection was started in 1910 and harbors over 200,000 specimens. We were supposed to be there at 2pm but because of traffic and bad directions we didnt make it till 3pm. Woops again. Once we got there we were lucky that the guide there was still available. Geomaris Rodriguez gave us a guided tour of the insect collection. She showed us how insects are preserved: through pins, in chemicals, and on microscope slides. She also emphasized the importance of organizing the insects in the proper way. At the end of her tour, she showed us various products and food made from insects. They had drinks, candies, and all other sorts of food that were all made with insects! Pretty cool but I don't think I would try it out!
Finally, our day ended with a quick look at the UPR Botanical garden - well at least the front of it. Although there were time constraints, we still managed to look at some interesting plants. We also saw turtles inhabiting a little stream in the garden. After ten minutes we left because the rest of the group was tired and ready to go. Bummer. Didnt get to shoot much either because of the on and off rain. Definitely will have to make a second visit someday!
Whoa! Almost forgot to mention the best part of the day!!! On our way home we stopped by a beach called Guajataca to witness the sunset! Definitely was the most beautiful sight during our whole trip so far! And of course since Im a landscape photographer I enjoyed shooting this the most! Its amazing how close the place resembles some of the places back home!! It really brought me back! These were also some of best shots so far and I hope to see more sunsets before we leave!
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