Here are some more photos from our recent vacation to Puerto Rico taken around El Castillo de San Cristobal, a fort built in stages by the Spaniards over nearly 200 years to protect against land-based attacks on the city of San Juan.

When it was finished in 1783, the fort covered about 27 acres of land, basically wrapping the city of San Juan. Entry to the city was sealed by San Cristobal’s double gates. In 1897, after nearly 100 years of relative peace in the area, part of the fort (about a third) was demolished to ease the flow of traffic in and out of the walled city.

Here’s an aerial view we shot from the 8-seater puddle jumper we took from Vieques on our way back to San Juan:

Just outside the fort wall is the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, the final resting placing of many of Puerto Rico’s most prominent natives and residents.

Andy grabbing a photo of me grabbing a photo of him! But, what I love about this photo is the light on the great yellow peeling wall.

And here’s the man…

This 2-foot long iguana (not including his tail) watches us wearily from the rocks surrounding the fort.

It was particularly windy at the fort, which seemed to attract lots of visitors and their kites. The trees on the back side of the fort were littered with lost kites and miles of kite string.

A visitor leaves the fort.

One of the many sentry boxes, or guerites, dotting the fort’s perimeter. These guerites provided soldiers with a view of ships entering the waters around San Juan.

A different view of the cemetery.

Some more sentry boxes.

Tomorrow, we’ll have some photos of the Condado Plaza in the Condado area of San Juan. The hotel’s lobby & much of the first floor was designed by one of our very talented brides, Kirsten, who is getting married later this summer in Cotuit. We photographed Kirsten’s love session with fiance, Dennis, right before we left for our trip. So, when we heard about the hotel she designed, we had to go see it. Stay tuned!