Welcome to Civilisation

Puerto Rico boasts many superlatives, much loved by Americans. The smallest of the Great Antilles, has a population of 4 million and the first ‘proper’ cities we’ve seen since leaving Europe. As we crossed the Pasaje San Juan from Culebra to the mainland, it was like a scene from Logan’s Run. We were conditioned to vistas of mountains, forests and small towns and had crossed in heavy rain. As the mist lifted, our eyes took in the rainforests and mountains of El Yunque tumbling down to the skyscrapers among the forested foothills of the coast. The northern coast is similarly contrasting with large developments around the mangroves and reefs until the sprawl of San Juan itself comes into view.

San Juan is the second oldest European-founded settlement in the Americas and the oldest in the USA. The US guide waxes lyrical about the 16^th Century culture, UNESCO World Heritage forts, architecture, galleries and museums. The USA was only ceded the protectorate from Spain after a war just over a century ago, so it is a recent addition and the language is still Spanish. The guide warns of street crime in the capital but also that visitors need not be obsessed with safety and “the overall safety of the area is high in comparison to many other Caribbean destinations”.

It also boasts the USA’s only tropical rainforest, its oldest wildlife reserve and the cheapest beer in the Caribbean. As well as beer, the Bacardi rum factory is just the other side of the harbour to us. Nestling on the north coast, San Juan has “some of the best municipal beaches this side of Rio de Janeiro”, the first one being just a few hundred metres from the anchorage. A little further is the SoFo district “with enough cutting edge restaurants to justify a trip in its own right.”

The city made us forget we weren’t in Europe with the Spanish colonial architecture and 500 year old fortifications. The city’s streets remain as they were when the USA acquired the protectorate, complete with verandas, balustrades and cobbles. It is stunningly beautiful and you only need cross a couple of narrow streets to escape the touristic souvenirs into quiet residential alleys where each frontage is a different pastel shade and each veranda overflows with plants.

The city remains much as it was a century ago with the fortified walls intact. The Governor still lives in the first fort to have been built, La Fortaleza, whilst the other two defences are UNESCO Word Heritage sites. The seat of government is La Casa Blanca – an imposing white marble building not dissimilar to Capitol Hill in Washington and everything is within a short walk. On the sea front, a working replica of the Amistad lies alongside between the cruise ships, whilst a working replica Spanish Galleon (complete with modern diesel engine) is ahead of her and open for tours.