Paradise lost?

Even Paradise has its drawbacks, apparently. Today I decided to take the public bus down to Old San Juan. I've been there a number of times during previous trips, but I thought I would pay the old town another visit. I've always taken the bus in the past. The bus stop is just a block from the Water Club so I strode over there expecting to board and ride it to the old city. There were about eight people waiting at the Parada. Apparently, they had already been there for a while. After about twenty minutes, a taxi slowed down in front of us in the street and held up three fingers; this meant he would charge each of us three dollars to take us to Old San Juan. I decided to wait for the bus thinking that as soon as they sped off in the taxi, the bus would come.

Actually, it did. Packed to the doors! I decided to skip the bus ride and the old town and return to the hotel. I often sit on a large balcony over the entrance where I can enjoy the breezes and read a book in peace and quiet. For two days a man with a large cigar has shown up when I was there, filling the ocean breeze with something besides the aroma of seaweed! Today he has apparently gone his smokey way. Instead, I got a cigarette smoker. The Hotel is smoke free so I guess that this is the hangout for the lung cancer seekers.

Apparently the buses do not run on a schedule of any kind. "Not even of any kind!', as the valet said in The Importance of Being Earnest', when Algernon had eaten all the cucumber sandwiches promised to Lady Bracknell, and Ernest asked him if there were no cucumbers in the market.. 

There are only two buses for this route: the T5. One comes from either end of the long route. You can wait up to an hour for it to arrive.

I've seen the millions of gift shops in Old San Juan enough that I may just decide to stay here in pleasant Isla Verde and skip the bus and another visit to the old city.