San Juan, The Calle De San Sebastian Festival… or party time in Old San Juan…

We are here… staying in old San Juan at the Sheraton… we can walk anywhere in old San Juan, which is good, because the streets beyond the waterfront are grid locked or blocked…  We had explored the festival area a bit yesterday, still confused by what it was, where it was, and how it all worked…

We got up at a reasonable hour (late for me, early for Tina) and made our way in search of La Mallorca, a well reviewed diner (by the New York Times, among others…), doing breakfast, and known for its Mallorca pastry… It was a very good choice… 

Fortified, we climbed the hill towards Calle San Sebastian, and the festival… We reached the street a block from its eastern end… then worked our way westward up Calle San Se, towards El Moro, and the reported site of the artisan booths and such…  There were seemingly vendors and artists everywhere, along with make shift bars, and people wearing festival hats, most of which seemed to be yellow, promoting a local beer…  The primary artist area is at the west end in the Cuartel De Ballaja.  There we found artists and food (and beer) vendors lining the streets, in the various plazas, and in several buildings… indoors it was clear that most of the artists were just that, not the general run of craft dealers found at various “art and wine” festivals in the states… I suspect there was some sort of jury system before being allowed to have a booth inside.  We were impressed… we bought something for Steph, a silk screen, and a tee shirt from the local animal rescue organization.  We may have bought a couple of beers…

Since we were near El Moro, we decided to visit… There is an admission fee, but this is a (US) National Park, and as such they accept my magic Parks Pass…  We didn’t spend much time… we have been here before (Tina has been here twice) and we may visit in a week or so when our ship returns… We did encounter two cats (one black, one orange), a egret and a Segway tour along the path… then back to the festival, back to Calle San Se… more artisans, more shops… (more beer?) then back to the hotel to drop the loot, and find lunch… Yelp and other reviews consistently mentioned a place near the hotel, Punto De Vista, known for Mojitos and shrimp mofongo… It was nice, but due to the festival, they were not allowed to pour the local rum… (I assume the festival may have held an exclusive contract?)  We had beer, I shrimp mofongo, Tina steak mofongo…  then back up the hill to the festival… we reached the end of San Se as the parade was starting… 

We found a place on the curb… 

The day before we were mid parade route, and it was hard to see what the parade was, beyond some people wearing big head masks and stilt walkers… mostly it was a mob… today, at the staging point, as the parade began, we could see that there were specific organized groups, Each with a sponsor, (including one lead by a stilt walker promoting feminine hygiene products… really…) with signs and tee shirts with the sponsor’s name… and people wearing big head masks, (recalling local citizens, sports figures, mythological characters, and even, Chef Boy-ar-dee) and other costumes, some with a band… some just drums…  but we could also see that the public just joined in with them as they marched…  more public joined along the route until it was the slow moving mob with bands and stilts and people with big heads that we had seen the day before… spectators with tambourines, with whistles, with great variety of noise makers all joined in… It was a form of friendly public chaos, which in a way, defined the street festival.

As the 4^th or 5^th group came by a local told us that this was the last group (we stood out as one of the few gringos or whatever name is applied to the non-locals from the north… and they took pity on us…)  So, in the spirit of the parade, we joined the last group… and marched the length of the street… It seemed that along the way, other groups joined us… making it hard to tell who was a planned part of the parade, and who just walked on as it passed… and there were other groups, on other streets, maybe not part of the parade route…  There may have been another beer, Tina had an ice cream cone...

Now, still early, we have returned to the hotel… a young Porto Rican told us that was good… the rest of the evening was for the younger people…  I may still take a walk back up the hill… just to look around...

San Juan, The Vacation begins

Flight time, part 2, back down the jetway… find our seats… stuff bags in the overhead... Next stop San Juan...

It is starting to feel tropical.... The jetway was warm...   We fly the length of the Bahamas... Deep blue water… Light blue shallows… White sand beaches with fluffy white clouds... Another nap, and I am starting to feel ready to take on San Juan.

Now in San Juan…

The plane landed, the luggage arrived on the carrousel as expected.  We walked outside… found the taxi stand and another couple headed for the Sheraton… we shared a ride… the charge is per taxi, not per person (but is per bag, and between 4 of us we have 5)

San Juan is a big city, but as tourists, we generally only see Old San Juan… Its safe… its touristy… the ships stop there…  From the taxi we at least get a glimpse of some of the rest of the city…  We are staying in Old San Juan in the Sheraton… it is a hotel, a casino, on the water (the bay side)… 

Evidence of the San Sebastian festival is everywhere… in our hotel there is extra security… Upon checking in, we have to sign that we won’t have more than 4 people in our room… we get wrist bands, with the serial numbers recorded… They are assuring we will have a sanctuary in the midst of chaos.  We are good with that.  We go to the room, drop bags and change, and go out to explore…

It is too early for the festival… it is the first day and they are setting up… We find the Barrachina… a bar, a restaurant, where the Pina Colada was invented… Tony was there… Now we are…  It is in what was once likely a classic Spanish style home with a interior courtyard… the bar is in the courtyard… with tables… under umbrellas… they have seating inside as well… we are seated at a table in the courtyard.

The Pina Colada’s are served from a automatic machine… we knew this before coming… many reviewers criticize them for this, but this was a quest, no, a mission to go to the place where they were invented, and have a Pina Colada… I ordered a Pina Colada, and was offered, with or without rum… not a good sign… I had it with… to have it without would be a sacrilege.   Tina ordered a Corona.  We ordered the appetizer platter for two… So… the Pina Colada was good… very good… about half the frozen concoction from the automatic machine, floated on a generous portion of rum… and a straw, and a little umbrella with a slice of pineapple and a cherry (the umbrella seals the deal, I am on vacation)… and instructions to stir it… I played with more or less rum, by where in the concoction I drew my drink from… Tina samples my drink, and liked it… all was good…

The appetizers arrived, various fried things (calamari, grooper, some fritters which we could not identify, and some mixes of shrimp and such on a something fried… dipping sauces as well… we ate it, talked to the waiter and go advice about the festival (it wouldn’t start for an hour) and had two more rounds of drinks… 

Back on the street, we find the Plaza de Armas, one of the festival sites, then find Calle St Sabastion, the street of the festival, of the parade… then wait… it is clearly the street of the festival… crowded with people, and eventually the parade comes… about 6:00… carrying a beer in a festival glass, we explore a bit more, buy a cat tile from a local shop (the Poet’s passage) then return to the hotel… way too early, but at this point we have not seen a bed in some 40 hours… yes we have slept in the plane… but not in a bed… the bed wins…

Wednesday Evening, SFO... or maybe Thursday Morning, Ft Lauderdale...

Wednesday Evening, SFO...

We are off... It feels  weird... There was little or no emotional build up... I came home after work, checked my email, ate dinner... Stuffed a few things in the suit case, then relaxed for a few minutes... Now, I am sitting at gate A11 waiting to board or flight...  With a bit of luck I will sleep, then wake in Ft Lauderdale Florida, only to sit again, at a different gate, waiting for a second flight...

Security was quick, people seem resigned to stripping down,  piling stuff in grey plastic bins, and holding their hands over their heads while being "scanned"...   I was chosen for a nitrates wipe down...  I am special... It was a good that I didn't clean the pigeon loft today... Their droppings are "hot", high in nitrates, and could have resulted in a positive test.  Really... Bird guano, mined on islands off Peru and Chile was used to make explosives in the late 1800's.  those islands were one of the prizes taken during the war of the Pacific.

Back to SFO... We continue to sit near our gate, waiting for the call to board. We fly in less than 30 minutes... They are calling passengers ( by name) likely trying to address seating requests...  People are starting to mill...  I note there is a plane sitting at the jet way... Always a good sign.   People are starting to crowd the gate...  Crowd the jet way... The jet way is freezing cold... It is a cold night, a good night to make a run for the tropics.

Now aboard,  full flight... Settling in... Searching for those last few spots in the overhead bins... We are flying Jet Blue... So there is foot room... There is space in the overhead bins...

Now a four hour nap later,  about an hour out, over the Gulf of Mexico... There are stars, but no light...  I put John Hiatt on the IPad nearly four hours ago, and he has kept me company... There are still a couple of albums to go...  His catalog may make it all the way to Ft Lauderdale...  The plane is dark... Lights at each end of the cabin and the occasional video screen...  The passengers are starting to wake,  The cabin crew is working their way down the aisle with water, orange juice and coke...  I finally feel like this is a trip, but not yet a tropical vacation, and San Juan, about 8 hours away is an abstract concept.

A bit later... They announce we are 140 miles out... We start our decent... The sounds change as the plane pitches over... Now there are lights below...  The Captain "illuminates" the seat belt sign... People are stirring...  Again there are no lights below as we cross the great swamp which is the center of south Florida...

Now, sitting in the Ft Lauderdale airport, waiting for our next flight... We have a four hour layover... Food choices are limited... We ate at the Food Network Cafe... All the graphics and style of the TV show coming soon to an airport near you… I had a Cuban breakfast sandwich, it was good… But now are sitting...  At 7:30 local time, the airport still seems to be in overnight mode... Shops and bars closed, cleaning crews at work.  The airport is being renovated, so the floors are bare concrete, store fronts are boarded up, temporary lights hang from 2x4's... But no construction workers are present...

I find a quite corner and lay on the floor and nap… an hour or so later I wake and finish the blog post … the bar nearby is open… the airport is open for business…

One final note... This is my 300th blog post... I started back in November 2008, as something of an experiment after attending a conference, for work, where much of the discussion was about new media, social networks and generational communication...  A bit over 4 years later I am still waiting for permission to use that knowledge for work... So instead, I blog about my life and my travels, and occasionally complain about life and sometimes work...  Much of the time now it is a travel blog...

We fly in about 23 hours, 8:00 pacific time...

The bags are basically packed... (My bags are packed, I’m  ready to go, I am standing here outside your door, … original by Peter Paul and Mary  not exactly our situation… ) beyond the bags, the camera batteries are charged... there is a pile on the table... If all we do is pile the loose stuff in bags and make the airport in time we win...

Work is out of control, but work is always out of control... our project, scheduled to be done tomorrow is at least two weeks behind… There are things to be overseen, which will not be overseen… others will have to be responsible… This isn’t how I like to work, but…

Here in Northern California it is cold... by our standards bitterly cold... freezing... down to 30 or so... but the Orange tree in the front yard is safe, as is the lemon in the back yard... The house project (aka work) is suffering… paint won’t dry… its too cold… freezing here is not freezing elsewhere... but we are suffering... The Caribbean is looking good.

While I am packed, of course, there is stuff to be done... I am trying to upload new music to my Ipad... I want a replacement lens cap for the camera... but, if those don't happen the trip will still happen... I have Jeep parts to pick up… (not likely) and a grant to finish (Our Rotary club is drilling a well for a clinic in Africa… Likely to be finished while on the plane…)

Now about 11:00 (pm), the lovely Tina is asleep... the late news on... nearly time to go to bed...

We have a plan… the St Sebastian Festival in San Juan… explorations in St Croix, St Kitts, Canyoning in Dominica… tourist stuff in Genada… (which beats an invasion… reminiscent of a Tom Lear song…)

In St Thomas (a US Territory… ) we will visit nearby St John… mostly a National Park, with National Park Service Rangers in magic Smoky the Bear hats… and a brew pub…

Home via a visit with the son in Ft Lauderdale…

See everyone in a few days, Mardi Gras beads on... Mardi Gras beads can fix anything…

Stories and photos to come… maybe…

Randy (of Randy and Tina....)

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