San Juan, Puerto Rico!!!

Since my last entry, we have had one day of class then we ported in San Juan, Puerto Rico! We arrived bright and early Friday morning, and the first thing we all did was turne on our phones (which work because it is considered part of the U.S.) Since it was only 6 a.m. at home, I didn’t call anyone right then. We got off the ship around 10 a.m. and the first person I called was Dad, since I knew he’d be up! We took a bus tour of Old and New San Juan for a mere $10 and the highlight of the trip was visiting the famous San Juan Fortress which we got to explore for a little while before it was time to get back on the bus. The bus driver then took us to a .99 cent store, which he was so proud of. It was comparable to a Dollar General, much smaller and a lot more random; however we got bottles of water for only .50 cents! Next, Tessa, Jess, and some other people on the tour decided to try an authentic Puerto Rican lunch…. Well we ended up eating Cheeseburgers! We know, not very brave, but the other things on the menu just didn’t sound very good. The local beer here is Medalla, which is good according to the people I’m with who actually enjoy beer. After lunch, the three of us wandered around and did some shopping/ visited Senor Frogs! The bartender at Senor Frogs was very friendly and gave us a map marking the nearest grocery store and some good salsa dancing clubs for that night. After finding our way to the grocery store we had walked all over Old San Juan and were ready for a nap, and thought it would be a good idea to walk back to the ship! (which ended up being at least two miles!!) That night Jess and I stayed in because we were pretty tired while Tessa went out with some new friends. Sunday was a low key day. We went to the beach to meet up with some girls we had met earlier. After being there for a few hours another group invited us to the Bacardi Rum Factory, so we went with them. After getting a cab all the way to the ferry that takes you to the factory, we were literally ten seconds too late for the last ferry of the day! We were really mad at the time, but we went the next day and found out that the day we missed the ferry the factory was actually closed for a private function. Anyways, we went out on the town Sunday night, Puerto Rican’s party every opportunity, including Sunday’s I guess, so we experienced their nightlife, but with mostly other SAS students. This town isn’t very big, so pretty much everywhere we go we run into other SAS people. On Monday we got up later than planned, ate some lunch and decided to go to the Bacardi Factory. The factory was neat, and free, so that made it even more fun, and they also give you two free drinks! Later that day Tessa, Jess and I were starving and found a random restaurant which ended up being amazing! We just got back on the ship and we leave in a few hours. We have seven days until we port in Salvador, Brazil then it’s off to Rio de Janeiro. Until next time! XOXO