San Juan, Puerto Rico
Our ship has come in, literally, our ship has come in. It docked this morning at about seven and we are scheduled to board her at about two. It is right across the street from our hotel and she is a sight to behold as you can see from the photo. The Silver Wind is one of the smaller ships in the Silversea collection accommodating only 296 guests. We’ll be embarking on an eleven-day journey which is officially titled the 70th Birthday Bash.
We arrived on Wednesday, very late at night. We flew with JetBlue - something we had only done once many years ago - and we were mightily impressed. The planes are clean, bright, and have large screens on every seatback. The staff seem to really enjoy their jobs and they actually serve you snacks and drinks with a smile. We spent about two hours in their JFK Terminal 5 and it was a wonder to behold. It is actually designed for travelers and thoughtfully laid out with passenger convenience and comfort in mind. Wide walk areas, tons of good food options, banks and banks and banks of computer hook-up areas for personal or business use. The monitors also have the option to order food that can be delivered right to your workstation.
San Juan is still a very beautiful city, especially for an island that is bankrupt. After twenty years of silly spending, corruption and indifference, the fiscal realities caught up to the island and they have had to make lots of changes which are not going down well. Right now the sales tax on everything - clothes, food and services - is 11.5% and next year that will go up to 16.5%. The island has lost 1.6 million people in the past five years as all those who have marketable jobs have moved to Florida or New York, leaving government workers, wait staff and taxi drivers to run the country.
If you ignore the politics, it is still one of the gems in terms of old architecture. Lining the streets are old colonial buildings painted in vibrant pastels that have been around since 1640 (the buildings not necessarily the pastels!). The people are lovely, friendly and willing to go out of their way to help you find an address or shop. There are two huge forts, one on either end of Old San Juan, both under the protection of the US National Park Service and both worthy of a long visit. There are green parrots flitting between palm trees and breathtakingly beautiful flowers everywhere which takes your mind off of the 85 degree heat and high humidity.
Time to get organized and dressed for our departure. We’ll write as time, connections and sobriety allow! Best wishes, Cindy and Wm
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