Snapshots
of the Caribbean
Part 8:
A turn for the worse
The Old San Juan feels very Spanish, despite some obvious
American influences such as the size of cars (the bigger
the better, it seems) and branches of American stores. The
streets are narrow and cobbled, with buildings painted in
a variety of colours. The cathedral (Roman Catholic) could
have been lifted from any Spanish town, with candles, statues
and incense all in evidence. I make a mental note to add
several South American countries to my 'must visit' list.
Despite
our optimism, the weather takes a turn for the worse, and
we gradually get more and more soggy. Once the rain starts
coming through my umbrella (something that has never happened
to me before), we decide that a hot shower and a change
of clothes are in order, so we head towards the hotel. We
give the name of our hotel to a taxi driver, who tries to
explain to us in a mixture of Spanish and English that he
cannot take us. It takes a while to realise that this is
because the road out of Old San Juan is under water. Twenty
minutes later, he mysteriously announces that he can take
us after all.
Back
in the hotel room, we switch on the TV to find that the
authorities are broadcasting flood warnings. Later still,
our annoyance at getting a bit wet is put into perspective
when we hear that there has been severe flooding and that
lives have been lost in Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican
Republic), which is the island immediately west of Puerto
Rico.
Part 9: Three
Flags
