We drove from Sanford north on I-95 for almost two hours. Since I've visited this city many times I knew exactly where to find parking and skip the tourist traffic.
We headed towards the Municipal Marina after seeing a procession heading to the Catholic church. From a distance we could see the gigantic ship. People would go up to the end of the pier that leads to the main entrance of the boat but we decided to pay to get in.
The entrance was $15.00 for adults and $8.00 for children ages six to 12.
The 175-foot replica of a Spanish galleon docked in St Augustine on May 21 after sailing from Spain to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
The first crew member we met was a young man in his late 20's from Andalucia. He was very friendly and asked us to please wait until some people would get off the ship. Once on the ship it was amazing to see how back in the day everything was built with such detail and it worked perfectly to travel from one continent to another.
There are 23 crew members all from Spain but we had the chance to meet their newest member from Titusville. He's name is Wade but the Spaniards changed his name to "MANOLO". He said they were having a hard time pronouncing his name. It was hilarious to see this American respond by this common Spanish name.
We also had the chance to speak with Manuel, another crew member that helped us understand how the ship works. It took them over 20 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean. An estimated 4,000 miles.
He said back in the day the whole crew was made up of only men. They had children starting at eight years old work on the ship. Poor parents would sell their kids so they could feed their other children. The youngest children would work at the crow's nest and at night they would tie their legs with rope in case they fell asleep. That way if they fell they would not drown.
El Galeón represents one of several ships that carried 800 colonists and supplies to St. Augustine, establishing the first permanent European settlement in the United States in 1565.
This replica was built in 2009 by Fundación Nao Victoria, a nonprofit maritime history organization based in Andalucia, Spain.
It was a great experience to see the ship and recommended to all families that want to take their children on an adventure.
The first crew member we met was a young man in his late 20's from Andalucia. He was very friendly and asked us to please wait until some people would get off the ship. Once on the ship it was amazing to see how back in the day everything was built with such detail and it worked perfectly to travel from one continent to another.
There are 23 crew members all from Spain but we had the chance to meet their newest member from Titusville. He's name is Wade but the Spaniards changed his name to "MANOLO". He said they were having a hard time pronouncing his name. It was hilarious to see this American respond by this common Spanish name.
We also had the chance to speak with Manuel, another crew member that helped us understand how the ship works. It took them over 20 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean. An estimated 4,000 miles.
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| With Manuel, one of the crew members. |
El Galeón represents one of several ships that carried 800 colonists and supplies to St. Augustine, establishing the first permanent European settlement in the United States in 1565.
This replica was built in 2009 by Fundación Nao Victoria, a nonprofit maritime history organization based in Andalucia, Spain.
It was a great experience to see the ship and recommended to all families that want to take their children on an adventure.
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