Puerto Rico Part 3 | 10 Year Anniversary Vacation | Travel Photography

We had a great and relaxing time in Old San Juan but by the final day I was ready to go home. We didn’t plan any excursions outside of Old San Juan. We walked the same streets, rounded the same corners, and saw all there was really to see in the historic city. But taking it back to day three and to finish this three part post, I’m sharing the final photos where we spent the last two days on the beach, with one more small handful of the colorful city.

We decided to visit El Morro after all. We should have done it the day we saw Castillo San Cristóbal since admission to both is included in the entrance fee but we didn’t and ended up paying again to enter. So just FYI, when you purchase tickets for the forts, you can visit both on the same day.

Many parts of the area were still in the rebuilding stages of what Hurricane Maria destroyed and with Old San Juan being the main tourist attraction area, there were crews out and about.

Did you catch the photo of the airstream food truck? That was Lote 23. It was on my list of places to eat and hangout at. We went a little early like 10am and nothing was open except for one coffee stand and a sandwich one. I was SOOOOO disappointed because Google said they had opened since 9am. My stomach was rumbling and I wanted more than coffee. I didn’t want to order a sandwich either. I wanted the experience of choosing which food truck had the most savory selections. I didn’t know where else to go around the area and didn’t want to wait over an hour for the other food trucks to open so I settled on coffee and a simple breakfast sandwich. It wasn’t bad but it was the greatest either. If food trucks are your thing, and it is for us, despite my disappointment due to our early morning visit, I would still encourage a visit to Lote 23.

We visited two different beaches on two different days. The first was Condado Beach, a more private beach area with cooler waters. The second was Isla Verde. I enjoyed them both but they each had a different vibe. Condado, with it’s private areas, was more quiet. Isla Verde had beautiful sands but with the strong winds from the coast, it hurt my skin! There wasn’t a chance to really layout and tan. We played in the warmer ocean waters and I got myself a ‘shoulder’ tan lol. After Isla Verde we decided to hang around Condado Beach again. I guess I still wanted to actually lay out on the sand and didn’t get that satisfaction on Isla Verde. And after Condado we dined at Cocina Abierta. It was a cute little place with great service and the food was good too. I enjoyed their version of the paella, though on the menu it was called something else. Most importantly, the drinks were BOMB! 

I wouldn’t mind visiting Old San Juan again but next time around I’ll make sure we plan a full day outside the tourist city and get some nature time in, such as hiking and exploring the national forests. We came close to doing that by day three but all the rental cars near Old San Juan was already booked. Next time…next time.