Borinquen

this building was one of the first we saw after driving into downtown San Juan from the airport. the entire drive i was pretty much face pressed to the window, taking in the beauty, trying to drink it up. in some ways, it reminded me of havana, in others it couldn't be more different.





there is something so magical about balconies. we need to be building up, not out. urban sprawl is going to destroy the planet. TORCH THE SUBDIVISIONS.

build these instead:





so beautiful. would happily live here.







we somehow ended up at this place:



a park for pigeons. it has historical significance (something to do with christopher columbus i'm sure).i dunno, YOU look it up, i'm busy.
























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below is a fort that the spanish built to protect "their" territory (which rightfully belonged to and was stolen from the Tainos, who they mostly wiped out but also enslaved (as conquistadors are wont to do)). the spanish renamed the island Puerto Rico (meaning "Rich Port") from Borinquen, which means "Land of the Valiant Lord". dicks. yeah, it's "rich" alright, if you arrive with diseases that kill all the original inhabitants so you can steal their stuff. wow i really CAN ruin anything.



we were there too late to really see anything, but i'm sure it's very nice.