TOURIST FOR THE DAY in CONDADO, PUERTO RICO

Hi everyone and a warm Welcome to the exquisite area of Condado!!! Before talking about my experience from the perspective as a tourist with the beautiful beaches, the sunny weather and the fantastic culinary experience, I want to let you know that there is more to this beautiful area of San Juan. Looking back to history Condado was urbanized in 1908 by two brothers, last named Behn. They decided to start the urban development of “El Condado”. The Behn brothers constructed a bridge to replace the rock and wood platform that connected San Juan with the “Isleta of San Juan” (or small island part of San Juan). This is now called “Puente Dos Hermanos” or Two Brothers Bridge, and is used as the main entrance to the attractive area of Condado.

        Since we arrive to this bridge we start seeing the beauty of this amazing area, the elegant bridge surrounded on both sides by crystal blue waters of the Laguna, where for most of the time we can watch tourist and local people enjoy paddle boarding or simply enjoying the beach which is called “Playita del Condado” (Condado Small Beach). There we saw a recreational area were they have very important information about a complex urban ecosystem in the Laguna, such as the Brown Pelican, the Magnificent frigate bird and the Antillean Manatee. And from here we continue learning its history; in the beach of the lagoon we can see a small barrier of rocks & coral reef that one of them has the unique form of a dog as if watching the horizon. There is an old legend that a young Spanish soldier named Enrique, far from home, felt alone until he adopted a stray dog. He took care of the dog and cherished the dog’s companionship. He named him "Amigo" (Friend). The dog loved him, and all they had in the world was each other. One day, Enrique had to leave for a battle, but he told the dog that he would return. So the dog sadly watched the boat leave, he even swam away from the fort, to sit on a coral ledge to watch the horizon, and then to wait for Enrique’s return. He would swim to there every day, waiting and watching. And is still there awaiting patiently on guard, eternally watching the horizon, until he sees his owner back again… Legend says that the dog sat there for so long that he eventually turned to stone.

        That was a very sad story, but we kept on going walking through the beautiful Ashford Avenue of Condado, which by the way is named after the very well-known Dr. Bailey Ashford resident and doctor of the district. Next stop was very nearby, the amazingly beautiful Conrad Hotel, which from the street we can see a small bridge in midair going from one side of the hotel crossing to the other side. Here they told us that this bridge also had its history!!! This small air-bridge was built in honor of the acrobat Karl Wallenda, founder of the "The Flying Wallenda’s" which at his 73 years of age attempted to walk between two towers of the hotel, on a wire 100 feet above the ground and without a safety net in 1978 but unfortunately failed his attempt, when he fell of the cord and died, after a lifetime of famous acrobatic acts. His wife and son also acrobats commemorated his act, and fortunately completed the walk. Eventually the hotel built this bridge to connect both towers and named it “The Wallenda Bridge”.

      Continuing or journey the lovely Condado district we were told that the neighborhood experienced an economic boom in the first decades of the 20th century when some of the wealthiest families built their homes in the area. One of these were The Vanderbilt’s, which built a summer home in 1919 which today has been converted into the luxurious Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. This said our next stop was an amazingly tall hotel which consisted of two towers separated by an amazing central structure with exquisite Spanish Revival Style architecture, called the Grand Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. The Condado Vanderbilt was the first luxury hotel to open in Puerto Rico and was also the first hotel in Puerto Rico to have a casino. Can you say WOW!!!

          Not enough being said, walking out from the luxurious Vanderbilt, we stepped in to an amazing park that just by looking at it nearby you could feel the peace and tranquility it transmitted. TRULY STUNNING!!! It is called the “Ventana al Mar” (Window to the Ocean), it is surely is a window!! We could see families gathered together playing with children, adults gathered talking or couples romantically enjoying the wonderful view of the ocean, the trees and palm trees… this park is like a place to escape from the amazing, but sometimes fuzzy touristic area. It was simply breath taking!!!

 Next to the “Ventana”, we can see La Concha Renaissance San Juan Resort another of the famous luxury resorts, located at the Condado oceanfront. The hotel was first opened in 1958 during the Tropical Modernism Movement. This hotel has an amazing seashell-shaped structure which in the inside has one of the most famous restaurants of the area, Restaurant Perla (Pearl). 

           It has been known to be one of the most modern and luxurious hotels in Puerto Rico. It is a popular stay for many well-known Hollywood celebrities. In our stay here we met a couple of tourist all the way from Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, New York, Virgin Islands, and even Russia!!! We enjoyed a lot the hotel attractions as well as the amazing interior gardens and spots it has!!

     I took a picture of the Perla restaurant from one of the lobbies… it looks amazing at night!!! Talking about “night” what can I say about the NIGHT LIFE?!! It is incredible… awesome places, good music, great cocktails and fantastic people!!! Not to mention the extraordinary local people of P.R. who treated us so good!!! Our journey continues… 

I, accompanied by my sister, kept walking as a tourist through the picturesque streets of Condado, watching along the way very fine boutiques and excellent restaurants as well as admiring the breathtaking beauty of this exclusive area.

Here's a video which portrays similar features I enjoyed from Condado, PR from a perspective as tourist, though being a resident of this tropical island.