During our visit to La Perla, Jorge, the community leader met us at the school and took us on an escorted visit to the community down and behind the fortress walls the face the ocean. The are two major points here: had we not been escorted, we would not be welcome in the community, second, the land the community sits on is prime real estate that at some point will most likely be involved in a local political battle for resort development. The name "Trump" was mentioned, but I have no supporting evidence to back it up.
Below are some pictures of our group descending into La Perla as well as some shots of Jorge's Head Start and medical center. I mentioned that this is an economically distressed area and the people are very protective of their property and community. Had it not been for Jorge, this trip could have turned out differently, as I was to find out the next day.
Jorge holding an aeiral view of La Perla and a more perspective view of it. You should be able to see why this land would be so valuable to any developer. Location, location, location!
I'm not sure if this guy is a pet or a future dinner.
After leaving La Perla, we walked a couple of blocks and had lunch at a small, local restarurant called El Jibarito (pictured below, the green building). I was to find out later that this is a local hangout where locals flock for food their mothers used to make. Frommer's portable Puerto Rico guide describes the restaurant as " set within a residential section of Old San Juan that's a few blocks removed from the showcase-style tourist haunts, this is a bustling local restaurant that's known to virtually everyone in the Old City for its avid loyalty to the kind of cuisine that many sanjuaneros remember from their childhoods." This was confirmed by sitting next to a table with 2 rangers from the National Park Service who work at El Morro.
Later that evening, we had an extended team meeting at another El Viejo San Juan restaurant. It was decided, and voted upon, that we switch out our Friday trip to Ponce, on the southern end of the island, and spend some more time in El Viejo San Juan. This would allow us to actually enter El Morro instead of just viewing it from afar. Below is a picture of the meeting as well as some of the biggest bananas (right off the tree) that I have ever seen. They were in the hallway of the restaurant.
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