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CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS
JUNE
8, 2004
    The
following day we headed out for the Monastery of La
Rabida. This is where Christopher
Columbus put together his presentation for Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand. He enlisted the help of one
of the monks at the monastery who used to be a trusted advisor of the
queen. Chris and his crew also spent
two days here praying for the success of their trip before they set
sail. The display at the monastery was
very well
presented, with a good audio guide in English, and we enjoyed the visit.
   After
leaving La Rabida we drove a short distance to the
Muelle de las Carabelas, which is a museum on water of life-sized
replicas of
the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria. The
three ships are so small, holding 20-30 men. The
idea of setting out in these tiny boats,
into uncharted waters with the crazy notion that you can travel west to
get to
the east is intimidating. And after
being on a boat that small for 14 days, it is understandable why the
crew was
beginning to get antsy. Lucky for
Columbus land was sighted shortly thereafter. It
was a strange feeling to realize that we were standing
at the dock
where such a major historical event was launched. Things
that happened here changed the world! The three paintings
above are by "Frescos De Daniel Vazquez Diaz-1929-1930"
 From La Rabida we continued
along the shore road, through
the Parque National to the point of Matalascanas, and then headed north
to
visit El Rocio. This little rustic town
of sandy roads and whitewashed houses is host to over 1 million people
one week
a year. Pilgrims travel from all over
the country to visit the Church of the Virgin of the Dew.
This church was erected to house a statue
that a hunter found in the hollow of an oak tree and is said to have
great
healing powers. It is amazing to
imagine 1 million people crowding into the streets and squares of this
town. The rest of the year it is just a
dusty, sleepy little town.
Continuing
north we traveled along the “wine route”. We
looked for vineyards, expecting something
like Napa Valley, but there were only tasting rooms.
Just like with the famous hams, the raw materials are
apparently
imported from some other part of the country, because we didn’t see any
vineyards, but this area is noted for its white wines and Sherries.
We
finished up the day at Velverde del Camino, which is noted
for its shoes, and then headed back to La Antilla.
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