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The Bartender in Old San Juan!
PubClub.com's Roving
Party Animal Has Rum and Fun
When time's not
a factor, having a good time is easy in Old San Juan.
It's 3:18 in the morning and the bar
is still acting as if it's barely midnight. Music is playing, people
are dancing and mint leaves are being crushed as bartenders continue
to pour fresh mojitos. Last call?
HA!
We're in San Juan, Puerto Rico!
There IS a last call around here somewhere, but it doesn't happen for
another three hours, and by then the party will have moved across the
street to yet another of the dozen or so bars along this glorious little
'ol haven in the heart of Old San Juan.
And they call New York the "City That Never Sleeps."
Oh, I'll be sleeping later, all right, but much later than I had envisioned
when I first decided to come here, a stopover on the way back from an
epic 10-day sailboat adventure in the British Virgin Islands as part
of the annual Interline Regatta in October.
The plane route took our group right through San Juan so it only made
sense to stop here for a weekend to check out this lively, historical
town.
Good call.
Four of us – a mere sampling of the original 35 who gathered for
the regatta – invaded San Juan on a Thursday night and no
fortress was going to force us out until Monday. While some suggested
staying in the resort-ish Isle Verde, we opted instead for Old San Juan,
with its rows of restaurants and bars.
Again, good call.
With some excellent advice from the Old Town Sheraton upon our check-in
(www.Sheraton.com/Old/SanJuan)
and some critical pre-trip assistance from the Puerto Rico Visitor's
Bureau www.gotopuertorico.com),
we headed out from our prime location to see what the ol'
town of Old Town might offer.
First up: a rum factory tour.
The Bartender and
a keg of rum – a dangerous combination?
Seizing the opportunity to see what we would be drinking the next four
days – and, indeed, continuing the spirit that kept us in
good spirits in the BVIs – being created, we headed to the Bacardi
plant, a natural "must" for us thirsty compadres.
For an amazing 50 cents, we took a 15-minute ferry ride to the other
side of Cana de San Antonio bay. Expecting to be greeted by a big, branded
bus with a bat logo flowing with fun, we instead found ourselves in
an old taxi van at a cost of $3 per person. Each way.
Miguel (top) and Hugo (bottom) kept the PubClub crew full of fun and
rum.
Why doesn't Bacardi, with all its revenue and resources, welcome guests
with transportation to and from the facility? It could play a pumped
up video – the one at the beginning of the tour is an excellent
mood-setter – and establish the tone for a couple of entertaining
hours. Upon arrival, Bacardi girls on roller skates would meet visitors
and escort them to the tour tram. Or lift velvet ropes as if entering
a nightclub through a VIP line. Arriving in a beat-up taxi just doesn't
provide a preparty atmosphere.
The tour itself proved to be interesting, the obvious highlight for
these four amigos being the two drink coupons provided at the end of
the tour. Somehow, we wound up with more than the allotted maximum and
located a free-pouring bartender. PubClub.com, it must be noted, prefers
the 8-year old.
This adventure only set the mood for...
The Original Pina Colada bar!
 Barrachina,
at the Western edge of Old Town, is where the original frozen concoction
was created as a house drink in 1963. Well, we definitely like pina
coladas (though not getting caught in the rain) and especially the ones
served here. They have various varieties, including ones made with 151
rum and a B52 version that includes Bailey's. Whoa! We were lucky enough
to be entertained by a witty and lively bartender and met the accommodating
owner, William Meys, who invited us to one of the bar's live flamenco
shows.
By now it was "transition time" so the town was slowing down.
We had already met a couple of key characters, – Miguel, the mojito-making
bartender at a cool place called Sonne and the ever-energetic Hugo of
Basiliko – so the vibe for the night was strong.
Dinner was set for 7:30, moved to 8, then 8:30 and eventually we showed
up at 9. This gave us a few "excuses" to keep visiting the
lovely hostesses stationed outside the restaurant. It also provided
us with ample opportunities to enjoy one of San Juan's greatest attractions
– attractive women.
All over, gorgeous girls paraded around "restaurant row"
(Calle de La Fortaleza), their stiletto heels clanking against the cobblestone
street and narrow sidewalks, the stylish short skirts hotter than the
latest Latin music. And they were everywhere. Suddenly, it wasn't
the 85+ degree weather and humidity that was making us sweat.
And so it went from there. La Fortaleza is like a high-end pub crawl.
We wandered in and out of the various small venues, settling for the
longest times with Miguel and Hugo.
It wasn't the tropic
humidity that made us sweat, but the beautiful girls.
The places are primarily nice restaurants that turn into lounges, though
some are deceptively large. Cars and people clog the small one-way calle,
which is more like an alley than a street. Occasionally, a police car
comes down with its lights flashing but this is apparently only to get
attention, not to chase out four gringos who are assaulting their good
'ol town.
Eventually, we make it up to San Sebastian Street – and
I do mean "up" as it's a fairly steep climb to go those 5-6
blocks – with its row of lesser-end pubs and bars. The rum
drinks are strong and cheaper – $5.50 as opposed to the $9 mojitos
– at places like Rhumba, which has a live salsa band.
The next thing I knew, we found ourselves back at Hugo's at 3:18 in
the morning. And, the reasoning goes, if one is up at 3:18 a.m., then
what's the harm in pushing for 4. Or even later.
Welcome, my friends, to Old Town San Juan. We'll be back.
By the last night,
we were down to the Three Amigos.
The Bartender can be reached
at: bartender@pubclub.com
More
San Juan Articles:
• Get oriented to Old San Juan with our Complete
Visitor's Guide.
• Historical sites, a free trolley and more the Bacardi factory
in the Sightseeing Guide.
• See and feel the heartbeat of Old San Juan's Nightlife.
• See San Juan in pictures with our Photo
Essay.
 Go
to San Juan Visitor's Guide
.
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