¡Bienvenido a San Juan!
December 29 to January 1
We made it safely to the airport around 3pm, and despite being the middle of winter, it was 88 degrees!
We had a late lunch/early dinner at Tomate Margarita, followed by nap time and movie night at our beautiful AirBNB on the beach.
First thing the next morning we headed to the Manatee Conservation Center on the campus of Interamerican University! The drivers on the way there were terrible. We even saw one driver reading a magazine while at a stoplight!
Some facts about manatees: The manatees eat $83,000 per year in food. Their closest relative is the elephant, and they have the skin of an elephant and the stomach of a horse. They used to walk on land then mutated to become water animals to escape from predators. The babies wean off around 2, but they stay with their mothers until they're 4 or 5 years old. They start mating around 5.
After learning all about them, we said hello to a few manatees. First was Guacara, who is 800lbs, 10 feet, and 10 years old. Guacara was hit by a boat and can't be rehabilitated, so she's a permanent resident. She pushes herself around her tank by her front fins and sit on her tail to pop her head up when she hears children's voices.
We also saw Louisa and Armana, whose tank is salty so their kidneys get used to the salt again, and Tudewa, who was 4 months old and got separated from her mother when a surfer got too close and scared her away.
We had lunch at Restaurante Doña Ana, which was pretty good. It was a crazy drive back, though, with clear skies one second and a downpour of rain the next.
The next day we did an Old San Juan walking tour. It's the second oldest city in the western hemisphere. In 1511, the first Bishop came, brought the first library, and started the Spanish Inquisition in the New World. Today, 85% of the citizens are Roman Catholic. The church itself was originally limestone and is beautifully decorated, and the rest of the tour was wonderful!
That afternoon, we went to Castillo San Felipe del Morro. It is one of the largest Spanish fortifications in the Caribbean. It was completed in 1787. They had extensive informational resources as well. Puerto Rico was named as such by Columbus because it was rich in necessary natural resources to continue on to the rest of the New World. It also had a bay that could protect ships from the weather, the British, and the Dutch. The fortification has a dry moat, which was both an obstacle for the enemy and a defensive mechanism because, while getting closer, the enemy can only see half the wall, meaning they would shoot the bottom but not top half of it.
We had a relaxing New Year, celebrating and walking around Carolina.
January 2 to January 9
Then we started our cruise! We were on the Summit with Celebrity Cruises. Throughout the entire cruise, my parents and I took advantage of as many of the shows, tours, gym classes, and demos we could! Most of the rest of the time we spent exploring the ship, reading, and dancing.
Our evening dining room was beautiful, and I loved getting dressed up for meals.
Basic Crepe Batter and Method
4 servings
Ingredients:
0.25 quarts whole milk
2 medium eggs
3oz flour
2oz melted butter or veggie oil
1 drop vanilla extract
1oz light beer
1 pinch salt
5oz or less of sugar
Method:
Combine flour and eggs then mix until smooth.
Add all ingredients (beer last), then let rest at least one hour.
Pour batter in non-stick pan to create individual crepes.
The ship took us to Tortola, Dominica, Martinique, St. Kitts/Nevis, and St. Thomas. On land, we toured, swam, and shopped!
Dominica:
St. Kitts:
St. Christopher at St. Kitts
St. Thomas:
On the last day, we landed back in San Juan and flew back to the states from there!
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