Castillo San Cristobal, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

"Fortifications, artillery, foreign aid - will be of no value, unless the ordinary soldier knows that it is HE guarding his country."  Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim

Old San Juan has that old world charm and feels very different from anywhere in the United States. Our first day of vacation began with a walking tour of Old San Juan. We walked up the narrow blue cobblestone streets lined with shops and restaurants to our first stop, Castillo San Cristobal. This is the biggest European Fortifications in the Americas and was built over 150 years ago to protect El Morro and the city of San Juan from a land attack.

As we walked up the hill towards the fort, the ancient walls appeared to tower over the city with Medieval grandeur. This magnificent structure was designed by Irish born chief engineer, Thomas O’Daly who served Spain because Spain was an enemy of Ireland's biggest enemy, England. This imposing 18th century structure was built by the Spaniards originally to protect the Spanish colony of San Juan from attacks by the native Taino and Caribo. The Citadel was began in 1634 and the fort was finished in 1783 and practically encircles the entire city of San Juan.

After over 100 years of peace, about a third of the structure was demolished to make more room for Old San Juan. This historic fort was where the first shots of the Spanish-American War were fired by the USS Yale in 1898. This fort later was used as an American military base that supported operations during the Spanish-American War and both World Wars. Then in 1961 the United States gave the fort to the National Park Service. San Juan National Historic Site was established on February 14, 1949 and this property is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966.

Walking around this fort, you could almost visualize the soldiers running around doing their daily routines and feel the history unfolding in front of you. These massive stone walls rise out of the sea in places over 150 feet straight up and range in thickness from 18 feet to 25 feet thick preventing anything from fully penetrating them. From the top of the fort you get great views of the city, see how much land the fort encompasses, as well as wonderful views of the coast line and Fort San Felipe del Morro, the sister fort that was built to defend San Juan from the sea. Three flags fly high above the fort. One is the Cross of Burgundy which is a Spanish Military Flag that was flown from 1516-1785, the second is the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Flag, and the third is the United States of America Flag flying proudly.

Many Puerto Ricans believe that this fort is haunted because it was said that many soldiers disappeared from the Devils Turret, aka Devils Watchtower which is the oldest part of the fort and was built in 1634. The story states the sentry box which was the most distance and remote of all the sentry boxes is where it is said the soldiers disappeared. The one true fact is there was a soldier with the last name of Sanchez who disappeared one night. He was on guard duty at this most solitary sentry box which sits on a steep cliff overlooking the ocean. He always brought his guitar to play while on duty playing over the sound of the pounding surf behind him.

On one particular morning when they were to change guard, all that was left in that sentry box was Sanchez’s rifle, cartridge belt, and his uniform. Many of the soldiers were superstitious and said a demon had came and surprised him and took him away. That is one answer to what happened but another was what probably really happened.

Sanchez, was a handsome Andalusian Soldier in the Calvary Regiment who fell in love with a beautiful lady, named Diana or Dina and was a mestizo (mixed race). Her adopted mom prohibited her from seeing Sanchez so he communicated with her by playing the guitar while on duty. They somehow communicated through the guitar to meet one night. Diana brought him civilian clothes. They fled to the mountains where they built a home and lived out their life leaving only his rifle, cartridge belt, and uniform. Supposedly, on some nights, if you are real quite, you may still hear the strumming of his guitar.

The hours of this fort are from 9 am to 6 pm. This fort is a must if you are in San Juan. Stay tuned for the next post which will be about Fort San Felipe del Morro Castle.

Till next time. Bye for now.