Old San Juan (OSJ)

My new “must do” when arriving in a capital city: take the free walking tour. The guides’ extensive knowledge of the history of the city and country  always make for a most enjoyable history lesson. Be sure to tip well as this is how the guides make a living. Many are students or artists.

For the San Juan tour we met in Plaza Colón (Plaza Christopher Columbus).

One of the oldest buildings in OSJ sits across from the plaza, the national theater. It’s named after Puerto Rico’s most famous playwright.

While I’m on the subject of theater, I spotted this cafe while meandering through OSJ after the tour.

OSJ doesn’t have any “oh wow” architecture, in my opinion. Still, I saw a couple of interesting buildings.

This next photo looked like a typical OSJ residential street.

After the tour it was time for lunch. I headed for El Jiberito, a combination restaurant/cafeteria. You order off a menu, but the food is already prepared. Quick, tasty and relatively affordable. I chose sawfish with onions and peppers and a side of amarillos fritos (fried yellow plantains).

These tours offer highlights of the city which give me an idea of where I want to explore further. I’ll go back to OSJ in a few days, take more photos and post.

Since this visa run centers on writing a new play, there won’t be a lot of sightseeing pictures. Just letting you know. 😁