Thursday, June 25, 2015

June 26, 2015



Castillo de San Marcos


The Castillo’s interior may seem dark and brooding, but I love those damp old coquina rooms. There’s so much history in each chamber that those who enjoy that particular pastime should thoroughly enjoy themselves. The rooms shown here are, from left to right, the “new” powder magazine (circa 1730s, small blue door at far left), the “British Room”, which holds a wooden second story such as those the British troops used when they occupied the fort for 21 years, and an old subsidy supply room now used for displays. Notice the upper windows are both shuttered and barred. The reason for the Castillo’s odd room spacing (notice the height of the powder magazine window compared to the other two) is that the rooms were originally built in the 1670s/80s and then rebuilt and enlarged in the 1750s.

Fountain of Youth


One of the perks about the Fountain of Youth Park is that you don’t have to strain too hard to envision how the local Timucua tribe lived . . . the folks at the park have already done their best to show the village as it would have been in 1565 (though, of course, not as large).I think this scene is pretty peaceful, especially on a cool, fresh morning when you have the place mostly to yourself. There are often costumed interpreters around, explaining the scene, putting everything into context, posing for creative photos. The smell of pungent wood-smoke and sea-salt breeze in the morning can hardly be beat.


(c) 2015 St. Augustine Fridays

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