Saint Augustine, Florida
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
We stopped at this exit expecting to only do a couple hour walking tour and somehow ended up staying the night. My favorite stop was the pirate museum, which was a swashbuckling adventure that did not allow pictures inside. We got to view a plethora of amazing weaponry and see medical equipment of the day including a small mallet that was used to hammer on the brain after removing a part of the skull...fun for all ages! There was also an interactive kiosk where you could read about all the most well known pirates including two women. I was most impressed at how democratic the legal contracts pirates entered into were and the amount of equality in splitting the booty. Speaking of booty, there was plenty of that! They somehow managed to get lots of coins, treasures, and gold bars as well as an authentic treasure chest that had been dug up from somewhere. There was also a section about the forms of torture that was used and all of it seems horrible. I am glad we live in a society where there is little worry of pirates invading and keelhauling you to find out where the treasure is hidden.
We got some cigars at a local market place and stopped by Fort Matanza before enjoying a great Cuban meal.
