It was a long time ago that I went to the museum at El Parque Museo El Castillo (Castle Museum Park) in Los Realejos. Finally able to read the inscription on the ship, after scanning the print to the computer, it says, Nao Santa Maria. Duh! Of course, Santa Maria was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. It was a nao, which simply means "ship" in old Spanish. Columbus had this ship repaired in Gran Canaria and stopped off in La Gomera. He never came to Tenerife, for the good reason that, in 1492, the island was still unconquered by the Spanish. The castle is described as a 19th Century fortification. In truth, it is more of a Victorian folly of a fairyland castellated mansion, however, that still possesses it's own charms. Unfortunately, it appears, this is no longer open to the public.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment