A visit to the good El Galeo`n San Pelayo captained by the founder of St. Augustine

    Moored on the Riverfront in Jacksonville, the

San Pelayo, replica of a 1565 Spanish galleon, was

 open for tours this week. Seen here is the stern.  Just

inside the door is the Captain's quarters, the best 

place for living on the ship.

A galleon was a boat that had the lead role in trade from the 16th to the 18th centuries.  They sailed the longest routes and had the most endurance.  The San Pelayo was constructed of oak and pine.  It was owned by Pedro Mene`ndez de Avile's, the first governor of La Florida and the founder of St. Augustine.  When he led his fleet to La Florida, it was armed with ten guns of bronze.  

Next year, 2015, the City of St. Augustine begins a year long anniversary celebration of the founding of the city 450 years ago.  Concerts, exhibitions, historical re-enactments and festivals will continue all year.  The culmination of the celebration will be on September 8, 2015, with a Mene'dez Landing Re-Enactment, procession, commemorative mass and street festival.  

When we toured the galleon, posted information quoting documents of the day said that "She carries seventy-seven able seamen, officers, sailors, cabin boys and pages, eighteen artillerymen and one pilot and three hundred seventeen soldiers . . . Moreover the said vessel carried twenty-six married men along with their wives and children."  This is amazing considering the size of the vessel.  How unbelievably crowded!!  Was the whole list of people on board at the same time? There was obviously no privacy.  My mind wanders to . . . how, where did all those people go to the bathroom?  

The boat is roughly 32 feet long and not nearly as wide.  There are three levels.  The bottom one was where the crew could sleep.  It had no windows and very little means of getting air.  The stairs leading to that level were narrow and steep.  While being a sailor may seem like a romantic life, it was very crowded.

This is one side of the Captain's quarters.

From the back looking toward the front

of the ship.  A lot of time was spent managing

all those ropes.

The ship's wheel. 

La Florida, 1600's style

Many Spanish galleons were taken over by pirates and sailed to the Caribbean.

St. Pat's Parade St. Augustine Style

  Our thoughts are with our Japanese friends.  Donate whatever you can to help.


 March 13, 2011


      Yesterday, we drove to St. Augustine for the first annual St. Augustine, St. Patrick's Day Parade. This started six days of a Celtic Music and Arts Festival in St. Augustine.  Irish music, dancing and food will take over the town. St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish and has a distinct Spanish flavor in architecture, food and tourist attractions.  How do you go Irish with this background?  The parade had a strong Spanish flare or maybe it was Spanish with an Irish flare.  Whichever, it was a most unique Irish parade.  I took some photos to give you an idea of what it was like.  

It was a beautiful day for a parade.  This photo shows Matanzas Bay

and some of the people waiting for the parade to pass.

One of the first groups provided bagpipe music. Seems Irish

enough, right?  They could be Scottish.

Here comes a Spanish Conquistador and his lady.  Maybe

they should have worn green.

Here we have St. Augustine's royal family decked out Spanish style.

No St. Augustine parade is complete without a Spanish galleon. Look it's wearing green.

These lovely girls dance an Irish jig.

You can't have an Irish parade without the rainbow and a pot of gold.

Irish prisoners or just a tourist attraction vehicle?

All the small town parades I've been to include firetrucks and 

ambulances.  Look closely this rescue truck has a Spanish man

                                 with a neck ruff.   

Overall, it was a great parade, but then I've never met a parade I didn't like.  It was fun and just

so St. Augustine.  We in Jacksonville Beach are only 25 miles away and it is a  second home where we take all our visitors and go for a change of scenery.  One of my favorite places there is the French pastry shop on Charlotte Street.  It has been in business for 44 years with the same owner, a family from 

Brugges, Belgium.  The pastry and the sandwiches are heavenly and perfect after a parade. 

Inside the pastry shop with its case of lovely French pastries.