In the morning, they awoke to the sound of drums and flutes playing the reveille (la Diana). Later, they paraded in full uniform in the square to receive their orders of the day. From this they carried out rifle drills or practice with the artillery. Others would do the cleaning or essential maintenance work, while others still would take sentry boxes duty in the "garitas"(small round sentry towers attached to the walls) or other lookout points. The food of San Juan’s soldiers normally consisted of a stew called "rotten pot" or "olla podrida". This stew was made with beef or pork, vegetables such as yautía, malanga, sweet potato, plantains and bananas, and spiced with garlic, onions, sweet peppers and "achiote". This stew looked very much like the "sancocho" of today.

At the end of their long working day, the soldiers could entertain themselves by playing dominoes or Spanish cards, playing the guitar, or smoking a cigar while enjoying the warm and peaceful San Juan night. After hearing the "retreat", the soldiers not on guard duty that night, returned to their barracks to rest and sleep until the dawn of their next day of toil.