{"id":2664,"date":"2012-06-09T07:35:39","date_gmt":"2012-06-09T11:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=2664"},"modified":"2012-06-09T07:35:39","modified_gmt":"2012-06-09T11:35:39","slug":"avast-ya-lubber-where-is-johnny-depp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/history\/avast-ya-lubber-where-is-johnny-depp\/","title":{"rendered":"Avast ya lubber \u2013 where is Johnny Depp?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A trip to Caribbean \u2013 that can only mean one thing \u2013 Captain Jack Sparrow.<\/p>\n

With this in mind \u2013 and clutching my camera, I set out from my hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico in search of pirates. \u00a0<\/p>\n

And if you’re looking for pirate \u2013 where else but in a fortress.<\/p>\n

It’s really not that hard to spot a fortress in san Juan..<\/p>\n

San Juan was a Spanish possession for almost 400 years. It was the gateway to the incredible wealth of the New World \u2013 and much as I want to believe in Captain Jack Sparrow \u2013 mostly Spain was defending itself against the British and later the Americans.<\/p>\n

Although they were a few pirates around as well.<\/p>\n

Still \u2013 whatever the reason \u2013 they built some pretty fabulous fortifications.<\/p>\n

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A sentry box - also calle a Garita - a bad place to be during a hurricane...<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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San Juan has two huge forts \u2013 Castillo San Cristobel and Castillo San Filipe del Morro \u2013 designed to ‘disorient, unnerve and exhaust the enemy’. Walking around them certainly exhausted me!<\/p>\n

The walls are hugely thick \u2013 with a network of tunnels that allowed the defenders to move around in safety.<\/p>\n

There’s not a lot of swashbuckling going on these days \u2013 but it’s not hard to imagine it.<\/p>\n

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Is this Captain Jack's beloved Black pearl?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Inside one of the dungeons \u2013 some prisoner had drawn ships on the wall \u2013 not doubt dreaming of escape. They are remarkably well preserved.<\/p>\n

It was really hot the day I was there \u2013 so I jumped aboard a rickety tourist tram to get from one fort to the next.<\/p>\n

The tram travelled along the old city wall \u2013 much of which still remains.<\/p>\n

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The cemetary nestled at the foot of the fortress walls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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I jumped off again near this amazing cemetery which sits atop the cliff \u2013 but outside the old walls.<\/p>\n

It is still in use today – not a bad place to spend eternity.<\/p>\n

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And on the top the headland was El Morro\u2026<\/p>\n

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Entering El Morro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s easy to see why Spain held on to Puerto Rico for so long \u2013 the two forts give total control over the safe harbor that made San Juan so important.<\/p>\n

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Even today, the ships have to pass under watchful eyes - and cameras - on the battlements.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Now that's what I call a cannon!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And behind the safety provided by the great iron cannon \u2013 they’ve been brewing fine run for centuries.<\/p>\n

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They woldn't let me sample it - rats!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Which brings me back to pirates\u2026<\/p>\n

There was no sign of Johnny Depp \u2013 although I did hear a tour guide boast that he had been Johnny’s bodyguard for several months while they were filming Rum Diaries in San Juan.<\/p>\n

Which was all the excuse I needed. To write this blog I just had to spend some time wandering around the Internet looking for great shots of Mr Depp.\u00a0 Captain Jack Sparrow fans \u2013 this one is for you.<\/p>\n

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Arrgh - luv ya C'ptn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A trip to Caribbean \u2013 that can only mean one thing \u2013 Captain Jack Sparrow. With this in mind \u2013 and clutching my camera, I set out from my hotel in San…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-my-travels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}