Introduction

San Juan is the capital and largest municipality of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.  The 2000 U.S. census reflects that its population consisted then of 433,733 "San Juaneros" [pr. San • Hwän • Ne • Ros], making it the 42^nd largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States.  The City of San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who named it Ciudad de Puerto Rico (roughly translated as "city founded upon a rich port.”)  Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European settlement of the Americas, surpassed only by San Agustín, in Northeast Florida.  San Juaneros have bragging rights over some of the best-preserved, colonial structures of the New World.  Among the most notable are the city's former defensive forts (Fuerte de San Felipe del Morro & Fuerte de San Cristobal) and La Fortaleza (“The Fortress”), built in the earlier half of the 16th century, it is the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas.  In 1983, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) designated La Fortaleza as a protected, world-heritage site.

San Juan is one of Puerto Rico's most important seaports, and is the heartbeat of the island's governmental, cultural, educational, financial, health, manufacturing and touristic affairs.  The population of the "Metropolitan Statistical Area," including San Juan proper and the municipalities of Bayamón, Guaynabo, Cataño, Canóvanas, Caguas, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Carolina and Trujillo Alto, is about 2 million inhabitants strong; thus, at least half the resident and visiting populations of this 100-mile X 35-mile island either lives, works, conducts personal business or "plays" in it, on any given day.  The city has been host to numerous prestigious, sports events, including the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, 1979 Pan American Games, 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics and the Caribbean Series.  International, mega-stars often include Puerto Rico in their world tours and also make time for fun and play in this paradise island.

Fun Facts about San Juan and Other Locations

Cool casinos, night clubs, restaurants and bars await you.  Whether you enjoy a nice, quiet café or thumping, club sounds, San Juan Metro is the place to be.  Take your pick.  Visit our hot, Isla Verde night clubs, the swanky restaurants and hotels of the Condado area; or if you would like to hang out with the locals, go to “La Placita,” in Santurce, which turns into an all-out street fest on weekend nights.  To experience partying in the tropics, try Piñones during the day, which will let you experience the perfect combination of beach and hectic culture.

If your time allows it, plan some away and try some town-hopping.  Each has its own, special “brand of fun.”  Boquerón (in Cabo Rojo), La Parguera (in Lajas), Mayagüez City and La Guancha's boardwalk (in Ponce) are some of the locals’ and students’ preferred hang outs.  Visiting these locales will require additional time and making ground and/or air travel arrangements.

To download a list of popular night spots click here. 

Beaches

Like most Caribbean islands, the shores of Puerto Rico are lined with one great beach after another.  The island's great size provides a wide range of opportunities to locals and visitors alike to enjoy plenty of fun under the sun.  San Juan’s beaches are the most popular in the island and are headquarters to many of Puerto Rico’s classiest beach-front hotels.  The west coast is any surfer’s dreamscape and home to some of the sport's hottest stars, not to mention the location for national and international surfing championships throughout the year.  The southern coast is the choice of selective swimmers and snorkelers.  The crystalline, blue waters bathing the coastlines of Ponce and Cabo Rojo provide the opportunity to observe, and perhaps, immerse yourself in schools of colorful fish.  These areas area also good places to head out to try catching a few marlin, tuna or billfish.

San Juan’s beaches are some of the most talked about in the island.  There is a reason why you will find that the largest concentration of hotels lie here.  Save your strength for the nightclubs and spend your afternoons at Playa del Condado, the best place on the island to see and be seen. Lined with Puerto Rico beach hotels, the area is jam-packed with everything Puerto Rico is famous for: warm and fun-loving people, unstoppable night clubs, beautiful tourists and the trendiest hotels and restaurants on the island.

A Celestial Attraction That Will Leave You "Starry-Eyed"

Situated on the north side of the island and ^*reachable by either ground or air, is Arecibo’s observatory, the world’s largest and most sensitive, single-aperture radiotelescope.  This project is funded by a cooperative agreement established between the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Division of Astronomical Sciences, via Cornell University’s Department of Astronomy & Space Sciences, the facility’s administrator.

Originally, it was built as a radar facility devoted to the study of the upper layer of the earth’s atmosphere, the ionosphere, where many of the harmful wavelengths of solar and cosmic radiation are filtered out.  Since then, this facility evolved into an observatory, whose mission integrates research in the areas of astronomy, planetary studies and space and atmospheric sciences by enabling unique capabilities.  As a consequence, the observatory's focus has expanded to incorporate objectives of a research and national security nature.  Many new observational techniques have been pioneered at this facility leading to major scientific breakthroughs.

This world-class, technological wonder is present in the popular consciousness thanks to the prominent roles that it has played over time through a variety of forms of popular art.  These include – FILM: “Contact,”  “Golden Eye,” and “Species;” TELEVISION: “X-Files” (“Little Green Men” episode); “Super Comet: After the Impact” (docu-drama); VIDEO GAME: Golden Eye 007; BOOKS: “The Sparrow,” “The Listeners,” “Where is Joe Merchant?” and “Rollback;” MUSIC: “Desdemona’s Building a Rocket Ship” and “Transplutonian Transmissions;” and INTERNET: "Adventures in Middle School" (episodes.)  There are probably other claims to fame, in addition to making it to the nightly news with scientific- or funding-related items.

In 2008, the observatory was included in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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^*By ground, the trip will take anywhere between 45 minutes to 1½ hours (depending on the time of day); by air, Arecibo is reachable within 15 minutes, via chartered flight.  For additional information related to a possible visit to the observatory, please visit the following websitesite at:  http://www.naic.edu.

Access to Pharmacy & Medical Assistance

Within walking distance from the Conrad Condado Beach is a Walgreens Pharmacy.  If you were to require the services of a 24-hour pharmacy, the closest one is located inside the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital (contact information found below.)

Intersection
Ashford Avenue & Washington Street

(Ashford ^#1411)

San Juan, PR  00907

Phone
(787) 725-4313

Store & Pharmacy Hours
M-F:		8:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Sat:		8:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Sun:		8:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.

The emergency room at Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital ("El Presby"), offers support by medical professionals specialized in emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics.  Additionally, on-call physicians representing the areas of surgery, obstetrics & gynecology and internal medicine are also available.

El Presby is located just a few blocks away from the meeting site, the Conrad Condado Beach hotel.

Address:           1450 Ashford Avenue (Condado); San Juan, PR  00907

Phone number:   (787) 721-2160