After cutting supplies to El Morro, he successfully acquired a Spanish surrender, but the tropical heat and diseases overwhelmed the British troops and they were forced to retreat and leave the island. There were no significant fortifications between the Boquerón Battery and El Morro, and Clifford was able to march directly to El Morro. Clifford intended to not repeat Drake’s mistakes, and attacked the islet in the east, by the Boquerón Battery and San Antonio Bridge. In 1598 the British attacked again, sending Sir George Clifford to capture San Juan. Not only had Menéndez de Valdés added new fortifications, but a fleet of frigates sitting in San Juan Bay and sunken hulls blocked the entrance of the bay. Drake was unsuccessful because of some tactical errors, but also the Spanish were well prepared for a British attack. These new additions were put to the test, when in 1595 British privateer Sir Francis Drake attacked San Juan. Menéndez de Valdés added to El Morro, added some of the city’s walls, and created the Boquerón Battery (now Fort San Gerónimo del Boquerón). No further fortifications or general growth occurred in San Juan until 1582 when Captain General Diego Menéndez de Valdés arrived in San Juan to govern the newly upgraded presidio, or military encampment. Poor placement of La Fortaleza and growing fears of British and Dutch privateers instigated the creation of Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro) in 1539. However, its placement is highly critiqued as it provides no protection to the mouth of the port and only protects the new town of San Juan from the south, where the assumption was the attackers were already in the San Juan Bay. After raids by French corsairs along the coast and multiple insurrections against the Spanish by the local Taínos in the following decades, it was decreed that San Juan should be fortified. But it was not until August 1508, when Juan Ponce de León discovered the San Juan Bay, dubbing the area, puerto rico. Between the blue of the sky, the white of the stones, and the green foliage growing on some of the walls, it’s a beautiful and peaceful place to visit.On November 19, 1493, Puerto Rico was discovered by Europeans, by Italian explorer and colonizer Christopher Columbus on his second voyage westwards. In the center of the grounds is a small chapel, where you can get an elevated view of the nearby tombs, enjoy some shade, and feel the ocean breezes. Facing toward the island, you look upwards at the colorful houses of Old San Juan. From inside the cemetery, there’s a great view of El Morro to one side, and La Perla to the other. The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, known simply to locals as the Old San Juan Cemetery, was officially established in the late 1800s and is the burial site of some of Puerto Rico’s most famous citizens. Some tombs are in worse conditions than others, but the white stone is beautiful throughout the cemetery.
In places, you’ll need to walk single file. Once you are in the cemetery, step carefully as the gravestones have been placed very close to each other, especially as you approach the ocean. The cemetery itself is often photographed but not frequently visited it lies close to the infamous neighborhood of La Perla, and is reached by way of a tunnel leading to the main gate. Built overlooking the ocean in Old San Juan, this beautiful cemetery is located amid two of the island’s busiest attractions, the El Morro fort and Castillo San Cristóbal.