Tourist for a Day: Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

I have had the privilege of being a tourist in a great number of countries. As a child, I used to do a lot of what we call “internal tourism” or tourism in your own country. As I grew up, so did my responsibilities and I can honestly say I haven’t been a tourist in Puerto Rico for quite a while. One of the places most frequented by tourists in the Island is Old San Juan. For me Old San Juan represents my workplace because I do research at the Institute of Neurobiology, a building right next to El Morro. Because of this I stopped looking at Old San Juan as a place to. To get a change of perspective, I decided to become a tourist for a day in Old San Juan.

Mocha at Don Ruiz

 From what I gathered I had to visit El Morro Fort, fly a kite in the Fort’s yard, taste some Puerto Rican Food and visit some of the shops in town. My mother was my travel companion. She is pale and blond and often she gets confused for a North American, so she was the perfect tourist buddy for this experiment. We spoke in English and people answered back in English, so we must have done a good job at pretending, although I am not really sure if they truly believed us.

We started the day with some breakfast at Don Ruiz, a local café located right at the heart of Cuartel de Ballajá (Ballajá Headquarters). Don Ruiz is a charming little shop with a rustic feeling. There were tourists and and locals enjoying the taste of coffee and sandwiches before continuing their days. I had a cup of Mocha and a tuna sandwich and they were both spectacular. Add to that the excellent service provided by the owner and the baristas of the shop. Afterwards, we went and visited some of the local shops, gift shops and some of the big brand shops like Coach or Guess. I didn’t buy anything, but it was interesting to notice the different little trinkets and souvenirs the shops carried, usually all of them had a “Coquí”, the native frog of Puerto Rico, or they had the flag or both. It is funny to think that these are what mainly represent us as a culture.

El Morro Fort

Kites over El Morro

After some snacks, we bought some piraguas and went to El Morro. I couldn’t remember the last time I went inside the Fort; therefore, everything was kind of new to me. I felt just like a tourist here, because I had the opportunity to learn about Puerto Rico’s colonial history and its relationship with the ancient Fort from the place where it all happened. There were some bits and pieces of the story that I didn’t know and I was excited to learn about them. I loved to imagine what were the lives of the soldiers like in their very uncomfortable looking beds and while they were guarding the “Garita” (sentry box). The view was spectacular from the Fort, so that added bonus points to the experience. Once we finished touring El Morro, we flew some kites over the courtyard in front of the Fort. This was a flash to the past since I remember doing this with my family when I was a little girl.

El Jibarito Restaurant

The day for exploring was nearing its end, so it was time to try out the authentic Puerto Rican food. We decided to visit El Jibarito Restaurant located in Calle Sol, San Juan. On Trip Advisor it is classified as #74 of the 704 Restaurants in San Juan, #87 of the 755 Places to Eat in San Juan and it has a Certificate of Excellence. It is a 4.5 out of 5 stars Restaurants. This was the place to go. Once we got there, I noticed that both tourist and locals were there and they all seemed to be having an excellent time. The restaurant was decorated with a full Puerto Rican themed, with the colors of the buildings in San Juan and with some Salsa music in the background. As appetizers, we ordered a plate of “alcapurrias” and “sorrullos” with Mayoketchup, a Puerto Rican mayonnaise and ketchup with garlic dip. These traditional Puerto Rican fritters were delicious. For the main course, the server recommended either “Mofongo” (made out of plantain) or the Christmas Plate. Both my mom and I ordered “Mofongo” filled with chicken with “Salsa Criolla” and we had it with the best strawberry frappe I have had in my entire life. The food was beyond amazing and I was perfectly happy with the choice I made until I saw what was the Christmas Plate. It was composed of rice with chickpeas, sweet plantain, “pasteles” and pork. It looked mouthwatering, I will have it the next time I visit the restaurant. I noticed the servers were especially attentive to us and they seemed very satisfied when we told them we loved their food. This was the perfect way to end the day.

As a local tourist, I got a change of perspective of one of the best area Puerto Rico has to offer. Exploring everything as if it were the first time I did makes it all more enjoyable and it presents new opportunities for me to learn more about my own birthplace and culture. I am glad real tourists have the opportunity to enjoy the beauties of Puerto Rico for at least a few hours just as I am blessed to do