Puerto Rico – The Adventure Begins

Welcome to Puerto Rico, the Island of Enchantment!

Through a study abroad program hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology, I had the opportunity to spend five weeks in Puerto Rico studying and exploring all the beautiful Caribbean Island has to offer.

Our first week in Puerto Rico included the opportunity to tour three key areas of San Juan important to the history and culture of the Puerto Rican people. But first I had to make it there!

After an early morning flight on Southwest Airlines from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and a quick layover at Orlando International Airport, I landed in Puerto Rico.

Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport is the main airport on the island, located near the coast in the eastern area of the capital city San Juan. It was a just a short walk from the gate to the baggage claim, and after retrieving my suitcases, I waited with other students in the program for a chartered bus. When the bus arrived, it shuttled us to the Plaza Residencia at the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras, our home away from home for the next few weeks.

Looking for a place to stay in San Juan? Check out Booking.com for great deals!

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

In the afternoon on our first full day in Puerto Rico we took a walking tour of the city of Río Piedras, exploring a few notable places in the community. Río Piedras is one of the oldest neighborhoods in San Juan. For years it connected the Spanish colonialists in San Juan and local agricultural workers outside of city limits, serving as a commercial connection between the two.

We began the tour at the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras, our host university for the program. The school was founded in 1903, and is both the oldest and the largest higher learning institution in the Caribbean with about 14,000 enrolled students. The school boasts some incredible architecture on its campus as well, with the beautiful clock tower as a central attraction.

Our first stop was an urban agricultural project called Parque Capetillo. Located in a neighborhood of residents primarily of Dominican descent, the site has become an important community space. They offer guided tours through the agricultural and forestry areas, and sell the products grown in the orchard and in the garden to the community. 

Next we walked to the local market, known as la Plaza del Mercado de Río Piedras Rafael Hernández Marín and through the Paseo de Diego. The Paseo de Diego was a stretch of the city that used to be one of the largest commercial centers in the area and the first fully outdoor pedestrian mall in San Juan, with shops, theaters, and apartments lining the street. Although the area isn’t the same bustling shopping center is was for years, there’s still plenty of stores and restaurants to make the trip worth it, and it has some unique artwork we enjoyed looking at.

Our tour guide Julio has been heavily involved in the revitalization efforts of the Río Piedras area, and offered us an exclusive look at an old theater that was in the process of being restored as a new community space, which was undoubtedly a highlight of the tour.

We also stopped by the original central plaza of the city before heading back to the University.  There we passed by a beautiful church, community center, Tren Urbano station, and even a delicious ice cream shop.

Visiting Río Piedras? Check out our list of top 15 places to visit!

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

The next day we took a bus to the most famous area on the entire island for another walking tour – Old San Juan. Home to the original Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico, Old San Juan is one of the most popular locations in the entire Caribbean. We got off the bus at the Plaza Colón, which features a monument to Christopher Columbus and an “I Love San Juan” sign, both of which offer great photography opportunities. 

From the Plaza Colón we walked to another important plaza in Old San Juan, the Plaza de Armas, where our tour officially started, and then on to the Plaza de Catedral. Due to the significant Spanish colonial influence on the urban development of Old San Juan, plazas dot the landscape, serving as important public areas at intersections of commercial, governmental, and religious spaces.

We entered the Catedral Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista, a beautiful historic landmark in the heart of Old San Juan that is actually the second oldest church in the entire Western Hemisphere. The art and architecture inside is absolutely stunning, and the church is also home to the tomb of the famous explorer Ponce de Leon.

We even got to visit a behind-the-scenes area of the church, given the opportunity to view the oldest spiral staircase in the Americas. The staircase, built in mortar in the 16th century, is tucked in to one of the back corners of the church. It has 88 steps and leads to the church’s bell tower. We weren’t allowed to climb up to the top, but it was still impressive to see and learn about the colonial engineering.

From the Catedral we walked down an old cobblestone street to the Puerta de San Juan, the iconic gate along the city’s walls that welcomed sailors to the island for years. The gate gave great views of San Juan Bay, and the old governor’s mansion La Fortaleza could be seen as well.

We walked along the Paseo de Morro next to the walls that protected the colonial city towards the western-most point of the island, where the Castillo San Felipe del Morro is located. On the way we passed by the Casa Blanca, the beautiful mansion built for the famous Ponce de Leon. 

Our last stop on our tour was the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, one of the main attractions located in the San Juan National Historic Site. This World Heritage Site is an iconic fortress built by the Spanish to protect the San Juan bay, and is a must see in Old San Juan.

Another significant part of the San Juan National Historic Site is the Castillo San Cristóbal, located a short walk east along the north coast of the island from the Castillo San Felipe del Morro. The Spanish also built this impressive fortress, constructed to aid in the defense of the city of San Juan. The entrance fee to see both remarkable fortifications is $10, or free if you have a United States National Park System Pass.

I picked up some ice cream from Chocolato and walked past the cruise ship terminal on the way back to Plaza Colón, where my classmates and I caught our bus back to the University.

Check out Viator.com for deals on Old San Juan Walking Tours and other great activities in the area!

Santurce, Puerto Rico

Now on our third day in San Juan, we toured the neighborhood Santurce, located between Old San Juan and Río Piedras. Santurce is another important area in the history of San Juan, and remains one of the primary cultural and commercial centers of the city today. 

Our bus dropped us off in a little plaza right of off Ponce de Leon Avenue, and we met our tour guide, Edison Viera. After hearing more about his historical research on the area, we walked to one of the most popular social spaces for both local Puerto Ricans and tourists alike – La Plaza del Mercado de Santurce, better known as La Placita.

We walked next to what is now know as the Escuela Central de Artes Visuales. Built in 1925, it is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.  It’s a three-story, U-shaped building with Spanish Renaissance architecture. When it first opened it was called Central High School and for a time was one of the most impactful schools in the city.

We ended our tour of Santurce outside the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and were given the rest of the afternoon to explore the exhibits. One of my favorite pieces was an interactive art installation that played music from the Super Mario Bros video games.  The gardens outside the museum were pretty and peaceful as well.

I had already finished my homework for the week, so I decided to stay in Santurce for a while instead of heading straight back to the University. I ate at the popular outdoor dining-area Lote 23 for dinner, walked to La Heladería Funkyberry Ice Cream afterwards, and then went back to La Placita to see some of the best nightlife San Juan has to offer.

Quick Trip Back to Atlanta

After class Thursday afternoon, I took an Uber back to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport to catch a flight back to Atlanta so I could attend a visa appointment for my fall semester study abroad program in France, taking MARTA into downtown once I arrived to spend the night at a friend’s house.

The next morning, while my classmates explored cultural sites in the mountains of Puerto Rico, I walked to the nearest MARTA station and took the short trip to Five Points, walking the rest of the way to the VFS Global Center for my French Student Visa application appointment.

After I submitted all of the requested documents, I walked through downtown Atlanta feeling  lighter now that the visa appointment was successfully behind me, and back towards Midtown with quick stops at Jimmy John’s for lunch and an ATM in AmericasMart. I grabbed the rest of my stuff from my friend’s house and headed back to the airport on MARTA to fly to Orlando again. Summer thunderstorms delayed our flight for a while, but eventually we took off for San Juan, arriving back on the island well after midnight.

Looking for a flight for your next adventure? Check out Skyscanner.com for great deals!

Ocean Park Beach, Santurce

Saturday morning, I rejoined the group and traveled to Ocean Park Beach to assist a local community organization called 7Quillas with their conservation efforts. We helped post informational signs to help with sea turtle rescue in different key areas of the beach and worked to clean and record trash up from the sand along the way as well.

One of the volunteers with 7Quillas was also a kitesurfing instructor, and he let some of us try out what the kite feels like and how to move it around. I didn’t get to go with it in the water, but even from the beach it was an exciting experience.

I spent most of the afternoon napping in my hammock, content to rest for a few hours after a very full but equally fulfilling first week on the Island of Enchantment.  

Click here to continue reading about my study abroad experience in Puerto Rico!