I slept very late (for me), not a minute past 7:30. I went down to the lobby to use the wifi and work on my overdue blogs. Everyone else came down for the continental breakfast before 9 and we took a seat at the beautifully appointed dining room. Chateau Cervantes takes continental breakfast to a whole new level. We perused our little leather-bound menu describing the different breads we could get. The guest house manager, Ana, makes us feel,as if we are close friends visiting her home as she plays the part of the best hostess we’ve ever had. We order Danish and croissants (which turned out to be fabulous) and visited the buffet for milk and yogurt. The friendly staff made me a latte on a humongous machine behind the restaurant’s bar and it was better than the latte I order at Starbucks. Great way to start the day! Even one with no clear plan. We wandered outside and waited for the trolley. The trolleys in Old San Juan are free, you wait at the marked stops for the next trolley. There are no set schedules and apparently no set route. We got on and went a different route each time. We just watched the city pass by us and got off whenever we saw something interesting. We browsed many souvenir shops, searching for the perfect magnet (which is what we collect from every place we visit). We strolled through plazas and alleys and when we got hungry we made our way to Calle de Forteleza and Pirilo Pizza Rustica. We had a fabulous lunch in a beautiful old building before we walked down to the pier and took a 50 cent commuter ferry to see the harbor and get a view of the city wall and fort from the water. But we had to continue our magnet hunt! At the very last stop Mallory suddenly screamed. “What’s that on my Shirt?! I think a bird pooped on me!” The rest of us were laughing so hard we could hardly find the breath to confirm it, she did indeed have bird poop right on the front of her shirt.

Despite the offensive spot, Mallory spotted a flock of pigeons in the nearby plaza and insisted on staying to feed them the frosted flakes she brought just for this possibility. Christian, Mallory, and Olivia sat on a curb and fed pigeons out of their hands. (I’m not so crazy about feeding pigeons myself). We returned to our room to rest up (from doing very little) before dinner. We found a great little Mexican restaurant on the waterfront neat the pier. After dinner we walked through the dark streets. They were considerably quieter tonight than last night. We returned to our room and watched a little TV (which we had not done much of lately). Tomorrow we do have big plans, the rain forest and bioluminescent lagoon, so bedtime comes earlier tonight. San Juan has so far proven a totally unexpected place for me, old town is beautiful and charming with its colonial architecture and cobblestone streets, and it’s vibrant with festivals and street performers. This old part of the city gives you a glimpse of what life was like hundreds of years ago, with its forts and city walls and everyone walking everywhere. I look forward to seeing something outside the city tomorrow, seeing the mountains in the distance have definitely sparked my curiosity.