The night before our cruise was to stop in San Juan I was talking with our waiter, Tiger; because I had never been to San Juan before. Tiger had mentioned that he was planning on going ashore as it was his day off as well. I asked him what he likes to do when he is in San Juan, and that was when he mentioned the Starbucks.

This was the fourth day of the cruise and I hadn’t checked anything in terms of Internet or phone calls plus a family member had surgery two days prior and I really wanted to check in with the world. So, naturally as soon as I got ashore I trekked it to the Starbucks following Tiger’s instructions! It was blissful to be able to spend an hour in the early morning (before shops were even open!) checking in with the world and enjoying my favorite drink! The coffee on the ship isn’t bad, but boy did I miss Starbucks!!!

From there I plotted the rest of my day, Castillo San Cristóbal (the fort) was next on the list! Which happened to be only a few blocks away. For those of you that watch Marvel Agents of Shield, this is where they shot the season 1 finale. Apparently the fort used to take over the entire island and slowly as the people began to populate the island sections were removed and the people settled into the land. A large portion of the fort still stands including tunnels, dungeons, wells and personal quarters for the soldiers. This National Park was very educational and rewarding not to mention the views of the island were gorgeous!

Making my way back down to the port I discovered stores (they finally opened), more brightly colored buildings and I made sure to stop by local art vendors for some really unique handmade jewelry purchases.

I feel like my time is San Juan was short and I would love to go back there someday. Have you been to San Juan? What do you recommend doing?