You’ve never seen old San Juan so immaculate. Businesses and restaurants are sporting fresh coats of paint in pinks, golds and blues. Brigades of volunteers in matching fluorescent shirts patrol the streets with brooms and rolling trash bins picking up every last scrap. And the stores are filled with brand new merchandise.
It all seems so sparkly and fresh it could be a stage set. But San Juan, which looked like a goner in late 2017 is ready for a close up again, at least as long as you don’t look too closely.
It was a happy revelation on an exclusive History and cuisine of San Juan on foot excursion from Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam. It’s part of the special insider tours offered through HAL’s EXC Explorations Central program.
Our guide, Dario has lived here all his life and he hopes he never has to relive the months the island spent without power and reliable food and water. There are still signs of the devastating wallop Hurricane Maria gave the classic colonial city in 2017. Some damaged roofs still have the blue tarps put on by emergency crews after the hurricanes. And recovery has a long way to go in residential areas.
But Dario says Puerto Rico is rapidly putting the past behind it and is ready to welcome visitors and their dollars again.
He promises a day of fun, “but it’s history before, and then we drink mojitos.” Our route from the pier leads to the colorful Plaza de Colon, whose centerpiece is a statue of Christopher Columbus high upon a pedestal, and then along the Calle del Cristo, the city’s main shopping street.
A highlight is the Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, the second oldest church in the Western Hemisphere, and the oldest church on U.S. soil. The current building dates back to 1540, but it’s built on the spot where an original church from 1521 was blown away by—guess what–a hurricane.
Resurrection and restoration seem to be central themes here. A focal point in the cathedral is the tomb of Juan Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer and conquistador who may be best known for leading the first Spanish expedition to Florida, which legends suggest was really a search for the mythical Fountain of Youth. He later became governor of Puerto Rico and as his resting place makes it clear, he never found that elusive fountain of immortality. In fact, he also became the first failed Florida real estate developer. He was killed in 1521 in a skirmish with the indigenous Calusa tribe, who forcefully resisted his attempt to set up a Spanish colony in south Florida.
We stroll through lively squares, the city hall, visit art exhibits and other historic churches before finally reaching the arched gateway to the massive Castillo San Felipe del Morro, more simply known as El Morro. Here, a sign apologizes for the hoardings that are still up on some of the ramparts. The fortress that over the course of four centuries resisted English, Dutch and American navy attacks still had some trouble holding up to a killer hurricane. But it’s clear why the elegant, massive structure is San Juan’s top attraction.
Now we’ve worked up an appetite and it’s on to the other feature of our tour, the hands-on cooking experience that’s one of a unique series Holland America developed with Food & Wine Magazine. It’s time to have a mojito or two and discover how to make the local specialty, a mofongo.
First, we learn some tricks for muddling a perfect mojito. The table is set up with a big bowl of limes, mint, a shaker, muddler , simple syrup and bucket of ice. Rum, of course, and in the home of Bacardi, they prefer Don Q.
We learn a secret twist of the wrist that teases the most flavor of the mint leaves. And another tip is you’ve got to leave everything including the rinds and muddled mint in the glass for the quintessential flavor. I’ve had a lot of mojitos in my day, but this one I crafted myself made with fresh ingredients in a sunlit tropical room with a sea breeze was magical.
Now to the lunch. Puerto Rican mofongo, made from boiled plantain, is traditionally eaten fried along with rice or salad, but today we’re going to mash it up to use as the bowl for a chicken stew cooked in beer.
The plantain crop for 2018 was ruined because of the hurricane, but in 2019 the production is getting back to normal. Plantain, as we know, is the husky, chewy relative of banana that needs to be boiled to be edible. We crush it in a pestle-style wooden cup with our muddler adding a little olive oil and garlic butter and olive oil to give it some tang. The idea is to soften it and it naturally forms a crust around the outside of the cup, leaving a bowl-shaped space in the middle.
The stew is made with chicken breast and thigh meat stirred in a pot under medium heat with pepper, olive oil, wine vinegar, chopped bell peppers and onions, oregano and cilantro. Then, the secret ingredient: a can of beer. When it’s simmering, add a cup of tomato sauce and a handful of stuffed olives, Cubed potatoes, sliced carrots and celery and chicken broth, and cornstarch to thicken.
It’s hearty and satisfying. Along with some tortilla chips along with another mojito, it makes for a memorable lunch and then it’s on to more sightseeing and shopping.
It’s good to see San Juan get its mojo back.
In 2019, two dozen ships will use the island as their home port, four more than 2018. In fact the recovery could result in record tourism with officials expecting 1.7 million passengers for the year. There’s good reason to become one of them.
The argument the government is making was laid out in the latest promotion from the Puerto Rico tour organizer ViaHero:
“Aside from donating to charity, traveling to Puerto Rico is the best way to help the island recover from Hurricane Maria. Why? It’s simple—money. Hurricane Maria caused over 80 billion dollars in damages. Federal relief and monetary assistance efforts have been an overwhelming failure, so tourism dollars have become an extremely important part of Puerto Rico’s economy.”
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