When It Comes to Auto Supremacy, No Island Is an Island
Through circumstances too convoluted to go into here, I found myself on a huge cruise ship over the holiday break, bound for the Eastern Caribbean. Our first port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is much the same as Aaron Naparstek left it two years ago:
[Old San Juan's] biggest assets are these charming old, winding streets and all of these incredible old buildings. The streets are absolutely perfect for strolling and shopping and sitting at cafe tables. And they are almost totally useless for motor vehicles. And, yet, there is no strolling, shopping, or sitting at cafe tables on the streets of Old San Juan. Rather, the public space between these beautiful old buildings is almost entirely dedicated to traffic and parking.
In fact, though I had not seen Aaron's account of his trip until today, we both took photos of the same gridlock-choked street, as seen above.
In this shot, fellow cruisers weave awkwardly through traffic on a Segway
tour of Old San Juan. Out of frame is their guide, who led them on
foot. Swear.
