Forts and Fortitude - Part 2: San Cristóbal

Castillo de San Cristóbal is not as well known or visited as El Morro, it's more like El Morro's little brother, the one that get's overlooked in favour of the impressive, over-achieving first born. But the truth is, while El Morro is about 200 years older, has seen more battles, and sits out on a prominatory for all to see, San Cristóbal is the larger, more sophisticated fort. In fact, it is the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World. This fact is not so evident these days, however, the fort having been condensed and somewhat buried by the cities bulging girth, but back in the day, these two forts connected by the mighty city wall became a partnership in the fight against invasion, and San Cristóbal, the new shining crown on Spain's glory, was going to put an end to them once and for all.

San Cristóbal was not far from where we were staying in San Juan; it was probably only a five minute walk till we were smack-bang at its hefty 150 feet walls. It was another nice sunny day as we took the huge stone-built ramp high up to the entrance gates on the west side of the fort, the entrance that would have been within the city walls.

We were made to detour through the old Guardhouse to show our tickets before entering into the central plaza. This one is much larger than the one at El Morro; a huge open space that looks extremely bare these days, but you could just imagine during it's occupancy it would be packed with rows of soldiers practising drills and getting their orders.

San Cristóbal was a much larger structure than we see today. Construction began with a small triangular bastion in 1634, on the hill known as San Cristobal (St Cristopher, hence the name of the fort) facing the sea. But during the period between 1765-1783 the fort was re-engineered and it became the backbone of a larger defense system. A layer of defense walls surrounded the central core, these "outworks" could function independently from one another in case one was comprised they could not take the lot. An extensive tunnel system connected the six various sections of the fort. The strategy was called "defense-in-depth" and was praised as a military engineering marvel of its time. As you can see in the picture above the fort was incorporated into the eastern city wall which also contained the Eastern Gate entrance, the only entrance from this side. Of course, the eastern wall has totally disappeared now, as has much of this outer defense system.  

Surrounding the plaza are the officer's barracks and troop barricks, the kitchen, the chapel, and a number of casemates. The officer's barracks are directly opposite the troops, and were strategically located not just for a view to the city and a nice breeze from the prevailing tradewinds, but also access to water. Just outside the barracks are these big cylindrical stone repositories; these are the water wells leading to large underground cisterns. There was no readily available water supply in San Juan and the troops needed to have a large water supply during times of seige, so this system was incorporated into the fort. The floors and roofs were designed on a slope to catch rainfall and lead to drainage ducts which flow to the cisterns.

This fort is set up better to inform visitors about life in the fort during the 18th century. In the officer's barracks you can see the typical uniforms worn by the officers and gentry while in the troops barracks you can see the contrast with the soldier's uniforms. A room inside the troops quarters also contains a fully restored replica of the their sleeping quarters complete with cots, dining table, water barrels, muskets and uniforms hanging on hooks above each bed. Other rooms contained more exhibitions like at El Morro and I also watched a video on how to light and fire a cannon. This seemed a long and tedious process from what I saw, carried largely by ceremony, that I stopped watching. Surely when the enemy's at your doorstep you blow ceremony to the wind and get that thing lit and flying out of there quick-sticks!

The fort has the same basic features as El Morro, with cannon openings, artillery ramps and garitas, but spread out on a much larger scale. We went up to the main battery where we found more garitas and a pyramid of real mortar shells - which I thought were cannon balls but turns out these are different (mortar shells are hollow and can be filled with gunpowder, that's why they explode), they were excavated from the grounds around the fort. From here we could spy on puerta del tierra on the eastern side of the fort, where along a grassy field, or dry moat, we could see some of the existing "out works" and beyond that, the Capitol Building. Then we went up to the very top for the best views of the city, full 360 degree views. If you're not into forts at all it's worth coming just for the view.

There were so many ways to get around, all sorts of short cuts leading up, down and around. You could really sense the intricacy of this place and it's well thought out plan. And that was only a small portion of it, there were also the tunnels and dungeons underneath that weren't open to the public.

Two things about this fort are particularly noteworthy: El Garita Diablo, and the WWII Observation Posts. The first is the Devil's Sentry box, a garita poking out into the sea, all on it's lonesome, one of the oldest parts of the fort. Its eerie name comes from a story that whether true or not has become something of a legend. It is said soldiers guarding this post mysteriouly disappeared,taken by the devil himself, but the truth may well be it was a good way for soldiers to go AWOL. Either way, it would've been a lonely position to have held and you would've gone made out there for days at a time, it's not like there were stand-offs every week.

In fact, the fort was not even put to test until 1797 when the British tried again, unsuccessfully I might add, to take the city.  The English Commander, Sir Ralph Abercromby, in an attempt to explain this disaster, later reported that the invaders had been found to be a well prepared enemy, with a stronger than expected garrison, protected by a solid wall and powerful weapons.

The other prominent feature is the obtrusive WWII Observation posts that leer unmistakenable over the fort, totally devoid of charm. These concrete structures were added by the US in 1941 to spot enemy warships and to direct the firing of coastal defense guns. An underground bunker control centre was also added. You could go inside these posts which were pretty stark and the only light was from an eye-level slit running from side to side. Great views though.

In its last test of strength, the forts stood as a protector of San Juan during the Spanish-American war in 1898. But after only a few hours, it was evident that the old walls and weathered cannons were no match for the modern US weapon technology. Thus, as history has told, the glory days of the forts are over. In 1961 the US army moved out of the forts once and for all and they became the jurisdiction of the United States National Park Service, to be preserved solely as museums.

One more thing, San Cristobal also has a new, modern-era claim to fame: it was used in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides. Wish I had been there for that!

Forts and Fortitude - Part 1: El Morro

Situated at opposing ends of the old city, Old San Juan is dominated by two massive fortifications revealing the dangers posed to this colony throughout it's history. These two embattled monuments stand like sentinels guarding the city. It's inhabitants, until not too long ago, faced a barrage of hostilities from naval attacks to pirate assaults. They were constantly under threat of takeover, but also the port was a stopping point for the transportation of gold, silver and jewels en route from America to Spain.

However, determination prevailed as well as some just plain dumb luck. The islands inhabitants were increasingly coming to identify themselves as their own State and not just Spain's humble servent, and at times of seige would come together to uphold this place they called home. Even the natives stood up to help fight for their beloved territory.


The first true fort in Puerto Rico was constructed in 1537 following an attack from the French in 1528. It was plainly called La Fortaleza, or The Fortress. Though pretty, it wasn't of much use as a fortress, it was too far inland from the opening of the bay. This became the Governor's Mansion, and can be found overlooking the San Juan Gate high up on a hill. It's a beautiful decorative blue building but we weren't able to go in the day we visited. It still houses the Governor and has become the oldest Governor's Mansion still in residence.

In 1589, work began on the new fortress. They called it Castillo San Felipe Del Morro; Felipe after the King of Spain, and El Morro, which means 'the promonatory', for its location high above the rocky edge of the northwestern most point of the island at the entrance to the bay. And so began the legend of El Morro, which remained elusive to all who tried to capture it for three centuries

There were a number of significant attacks on the fortress that forced the Spanish to build a new fort on the opposite end of the city and enclose the city in it's now famous wall.

• 1595 - Sir Francis Drake attacked early on in pursuit of the gold and silver stored at La Fortaleza. The artillery from/of El Morro effectively defended the city and punished the invaders sending them away with many casualties.
• 1598 - the English attacked again led by Sir George Clifford, 3rd Eearl of Cumberland. El Morro's strength lay in attacks by sea, but the Earl landed in San Juan from the other side and sieged the city. Unable to take El Morro, the Earl's soldiers held on for 6 weeks, before exhaustion and dysentery forced them to abandon their conquest.
• 1625 - El Morro and the Puerto Rican people's day of glory came when the Dutch, Commanded by General Boudewin Hendricksz, landed on San Juan. The Spanish refused to surrender, and made it impossible for them to take over. Purportedly, even the released prisoners chose to stay and help fight. The Dutch, in their fury, burned down the city, including La Fortaleza before retreating. By this stage it became imperitive for a second fort and city wall to be built to reinforce defenses.

El Morro is the first of the two forts we visited, which makes sense, being the oldest on the island. We took one of the free trolleys up to the fort because it was so hot. The first thing you notice is the huge expanse of green spreading across either side of a long straight road leading up to the fort. This was a strategic maneuver by the Spanish, providing the perfect "field of fire" for the approaching enemy. Known today as the Esplanade, it's a popular place for kite-flying with the north-easterly tradewinds providing the perfect conditions; and boy, it was blustery over there!

Off the trolley we were finally face-to-face with this legend of Puerto Rican history. You could see the past etched in it's battered facade; in the crumbling stonework, in every fracture and crack,  and it's discolouration, all worn with the heaviness of it's burdens through years and years of unrest.

It was very fitting that we visited these forts not long after having just visited two in Alabama. In the centre of Mobile, AL we went to Fort Conde, which was a small scale reproduction of the fort that used to be there, and had been held by the French, Spanish and British before coming into American possession. We also went to Fort Morgan located on the tip of a peninsula at the mouth of Mobile Bay. It played a large part in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War and was badly damaged. Those forts were like introductory forts, and the knowledge we gained from them helped us get a feeling for the forts that we would now see in San Juan, which are on a whole new level; a lot bigger, a lot older and have seen way more conflict.

We passed over the old moat via a stone bridge into the threshold. The outer walls are up to 6m thick. Today El Morro has six levels that rise from sea level to 145ft (44m) high and the grounds span 70 acres. But it didn't start off this way. Construction began with a small prototype fort consisting of a 2 level structure with an arched tower, a battery platform and 4 embrasures for cannons in close proximity to the sea. The external walls now swallow the original structure as the site grew larger to meet growing needs. It became one of the largest fortifications built by the Spain in the Caribbean, the result of the efforts of Spanish engineers over a period of more than 250 years.

We came out into a courtyard on the 4th floor of the fort, called the Plaza Principal, surrounded by sunny yellow exterior with white arches accenting each opening. We wandered through the old casemates some of which still contain cannons as they were, pointing out to sea through the embrasures. Some embrasures we could walk through, between the thick walls to the opening, now closed off by a balcony, and gaze over the sides to the sea far below. The restrooms also contained these openings with the balcony, it was a nice unexpected feature, and made it nice and airy.

Without a tour there was a lot of walking around aimlessly and it would've been nice to get a detailed description of features of the fort, but it was still incredible and you could wander almost anywhere through the web of tunnels and passageways, down to the dungeons, up to the roof top, and around the different levels. You could get a real sense of what it was like to be holed up in this place during seiges. There was also a short video of the history of the fort in one of the old prison rooms and some exhibits displaying time lines and historical narratives. My favourite was an exhibit showing "before and now" photographs of military structures around San Juan that would show whether they were still here, damaged or demolished.



We stopped in the small chapel before heading down the steep, long artillery ramp to the Battery of Santa Barbara (named after the Patron Saint of Artillerymen) on the 2nd level. This was a large opened triangular observation area that looked straight out across the ocean. There was an observation deck at the point and down one side you could see semi-circular ... , evidence of where dozens of cannons used to line it's bank. On the other side we could step out into the confined domed garitas and look through the slits to spy oncoming ships, and if you looked closely you could see El Cañuelo across the bay, another smaller fort that was El Morro's partner in defense, though El Morro was always the star of the show. We wandered around another couple of levels that you could access here, went down to the dark dungeon and then proceeded back up the ramp to the Plaza.

Then we headed through the archway of which the three flags of El Morro fly representing the United States, Puerto Rico and the Cross of Burgundy, the old Spanish military flag which was flown at El Morro from 1516-1785. There was another ramp up to the attractive yet incongruous lighthouse tower, the tallest point of the fort at 180ft (55m) high. The tower stands out from the rest of the sandstone structure of the fort and this is because it was built by the Americans in 1908; the original was damaged during the war. From up here there were more views to be had; back toward San Juan we could see the Maria Magdalena cemetery, the colonial-era cemetery, and the bright colours of La Perla, from here, looking very peaceful. There were also more cannon scars on this level.

The tower wasn't the only redesigning the Americans did. During the World Wars, the US used El Morro as an outpost to detect and control hostile water activities. It became part of Fort Brooke for the US Army, a kind of comical country club really. The green lawn in front of El Morro was replaced with baseball diamonds, a hospital, officers' quarters and clubs, a car park, and even a golf course! (Wikipedia). Luckily, though, commonsense prevailed, and in honour of the Quincentennial in 1992 the esplanade was restored to it's original form so that I, and everyone else, can enjoy it as it should be.

*Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them :)