What to do in San Juan, Puerto Rico!

Last week I was lucky to be in beautiful weather, surrounded by palm trees and blue skies while it rained and cooled down back at home. My husband had a conference to attend, and I hitched along to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Because he was working here and there, we didn't do all there is to offer, but I had some pretty great R&R time - which was MUCH needed!
BUT if you are going with more time on your hands, there are some seriously cool things you should look into doing like: hiking in the el younque rainforest to a waterfall,  sunset kayak in the bioluminescent bay, and I'm always a huge fan of snorkeling and day-long catamaran trips!
A lot of my trip was spent at the Hilton Caribe, hanging out at the beach and pool. I loved the hammock area and pretty much stayed in the shade most of the time!  But, I did peel myself away from the beach and pool and my husband had some free time to do some further exploring.  

{^^Sunnies} 

 Old San Juan is the original town of San Juan that used to be contained by walls.  In 1897, the walls came down when the people demanded the space to expand as the population had grown.  We loved this area - all the brightly colored buildings and ally-ways reminded me of Europe!  And there were some great patio restaurants.  We walked around a couple times - you could walk from coast to the coast on the other side.

 The last day we were there, we had the whole day to explore. So, back to Old San Juan (which was just a 10-15 minute cab ride away from the Hilton), we hit up both the forts that protected (old) San Juan from invaders, El Morro was built in the late 1500s to guard against invaders from the seat and the Castillo San Cristobal fortress was built later in mid-1600s to protect the city.   Both forts have amazing views, catch prefect breezes and are filled with history.

I loved walking around these expansive structures, taking photos and climbing to the top for the best views.  My husband loves to read every little sign and devour the maps. This is how we do our vacations - always slightly in our own ways.

So next year... I'm thinking a true vacation (no work!) to Costa Rica!  Anyone been there with any great recommendations or thoughts on other places I should adventure and get some R&R next?

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