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Photo Contest – August 12, 2011
The winner of our photo contest is Bob Mandl of North Babylon, NY. Bob’s name was randomly selected from 29 who correctly responded to our two-part question (name of fort and city that it is located in).
The fort in the contest photo (show below) is commonly known as El Morro and is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Castillo San Felipe Del Morro, San Felipe Del Morro Castle and other variations and spellings were also counted as correct answers.
Photo Contest - August 12, 2011
El Morro lies on the northwestern-most point of San Juan. Named in honor or King Phillip II of Spain, the fort was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the city of Old San Juan from seaborne enemies. In 1983, the fort was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
San Juan
Puerto Rico is 100 miles long and 35 miles wide. Close to 4 million people live on the “Island of Enchantment,” with more than a million of them in the greater San Juan metropolitan area. It is a vibrant, modern, bilingual, multicultural society, one that has been molded by Spanish, African and Native American Tainos with influences from the United States.
Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and the United States Congress legislates many aspects of Puerto Rican life. However, the islanders do not vote in U.S. presidential elections. Since 1947, Puerto Ricans have been able to elect their own governor. Its official languages are Spanish and English, with Spanish being the primary language.
We have spent many days (on a combination of trips) exploring San Juan and most of those days have been focused on the old city where the fort is located. The cobblestone streets and lovely architecture are a photographer’s delight.
The streets of Old San Juan.
On many evenings, there are free outdoor concerts by the water front (in the old city). In addition to the fort, the old city houses some beautiful churches, the most notable being the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. While walking through the old city, it is worth visiting El Convento, a converted convent which is now a first-class hotel. While there, take a moment to go up to the 3rd floor for a great view of the city or have a nice cold drink in the courtyard.
Entrance to El Convento.
Cathedral of San Juan Bautista.
A walk along the waterfront allows a view of the city wall.
During our last trip to San Juan, we took a bike tour which allowed us to venture beyond the old city into other neighborhoods and visit some “local” sites we might not otherwise have seen.
Our tour leader preparing our bikes for the tour.
A visit to the Mercado, where we sample some local cuisine.
A stop at the beach before we head back to the ship.