Andy, the tour guide from the Puerto Rico Buildings Drawings Society is a man on a mission and it shows. Some people can talk for an hour and 45 minutes and exhaust their knowledge, but Andy can go on all day and with each word renew your enthusiasm for the topic. The PRHBD’s mission is to promote Puerto Rico’s spectacular historic environment and ensure that it is both researched and understood. It’s a group of architects, engineers, urban planners, designers, educators and historians that have come together to research, understand and share Puerto Rico’s unique past. Andy is an architect and uses his great thirst for knowledge of his field to investigate and notice details that escape the untrained eye.
An Old San Juan tour full of knowledge
Their main focus is educating and creating historic appreciation within the local population. They have also put together a series of tours for visitors. Recently we were able to take part of a Saturday tour in English and, even after living here for more than 50+ years, we were astounded on the amount of new information shared in such a brief period. As an example, the commonly believed origin of the blue cobblestones that line Old San Juan street was that they were ballast stones taken from Spanish ships centuries ago. Turns out they are actually from Liverpool, England and were brought over in 1890. They came on a Spanish ship so that’s probably where the “rumor” started.
The buildings do the talking
The tour in English takes place in Old San Juan. You’ll get a brief, hour 45 minute snapshot of the 500 years of Old San Juan’s history using architectural details to evidence the changes and features of the old city. The Society also offers different experiences in Spanish all over the metropolitan area. They cover everything from the art deco movie houses of Río Piedras to the streets of Miramar, the first “suburb” of San Juan. Every month they publish a calendar of their tours with dates on their website www.prhbds.org
A history buffs dream Old San Juan tour
On all their tours, much more than facts, you get a real life, hands-on glimpse of the past as you weave your way around, into and out of different buildings, rooftops, convents and even church crypts. The details pointed out on each stop are exquisitely used to illustrate the spectacular history of Puerto Rico. You get to feel the many cultural influences that have shaped the present and even understand why there are blond haired, blue-eyed Puerto Ricans with Irish or German last names. We won’t go into exact details of the tour because it’s best to experience them yourself. If you need any reassurance on just how good of a tour you’ll get, keep in mind this is Airbnb’s highest rated tour in Puerto Rico. (4.97, 5,000+ reviews)
Get in touch
If you want to book the English tour go to https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/174126. If you want to arrange a private group tour call Andy at 787-671-8492.
More details and their monthly tour schedule: https://www.prhbds.org
