Walking around Plaze De San Jose
“When you go to San Juan, take a walking tour of the Old San Juan area. Take your time and walk around, browse the shops and saunter around Plaza de San Jose. You will get a feel of the Old San Juan and the heritage of the city” -a friend who is a native of Puerto Rico advised us when we told him that we planned to be in San Juan during our caribbean vacation. We took his advice and took the walking tour which lasted for almost two hours. During the walking tour, we made a note of all the places that we wanted to go back to, for a more leisurely visit. One of them was the Plaza de San Jose with La Iglesia San Jose..
Plaza de San Jose can be reached from Calle San Sebastian or Del Cristo Street. In the middle of this square or plaza is a bronze statue of Ponce de Leon, Puerto Rico’s first governor. Apparently his statue was made from melted cannons that had been captured from the English navy after the attack on the city. There are several museums, cafes and bars around the Plaza de San Jose .The 16th century Iglesia San Jose is the second oldest church in the Americas and is the only true gothic structure in the US, we were told.
After a leisurely lunch in one of the cafes in the Plaze de San Jose, we wandered down Del Cristo street and reached another beautiful plaza called Caleta des Monjas where there were seats under a huge tree for us to relax in. It was then that I truly understood the need for a siesta, so typical of a Spanish way of life. With such tasty food and sinful desserts, and the hot sun which made walking around rather tiring, no wonder several of the shops were closed for a long lunch hour.
