La Perla

Old San Juan was a strongly fortified city, and stepping outside of the old castle walls was somewhat of an eye opening experience.  Though I don't know about the history of the La Perla neighborhood from what I saw it was the slum of the city.  A run down shanty town that was slapped on the side of the cliff.  As I gingerly stepped down the steep stairs and carefully wade through the abandoned buildings I couldn't help but feel the adrenaline and excitement coursing through my veins.

At first I was somewhat nervous about my surroundings, it felt like zombies were going to burst through one of those boarded up windows.

Once I got to the bottom of the cliff, I saw a couple of newer buildings and there were some friendly faces that greeted me.  As I wondered around I saw some really impressive graffiti.

An entire wall was just lined with these large paintings, it was really cool.  The big smoking heart below was probably my favorite.

At first I was nervous going outside of the main streets but I was really glad in the end to make the trip.  Outside of the tourists filled gift shops, outside of the casinos and the giant cruise ships.  If you brave yourself to venture outside of those old city walls and climb down the cliff, something new and amazing might be waiting for you. 

Until next time, adventure beckons...