Down With The Ship In St. Augustine
It is incorrect to dub St. Augustine, Florida as America’s oldest village. Native American mound cities in the Upper Midwest and the Anasazi Pueblo cities of southwestern Colorado predate St. Augustine by several hundred years, as do Mexico City and the ancient Mayan city of Tikal further south. However, St. Augustine was the original permanent, named European community in what is at present the United States, formed only a little more than seventy years after Columbus’ historic voyage.
As you may expect, there is a lot in this area for the history enthusiast, from the ruins of the initial fort to the old town neighborhoods with colonial Spanish architecture and several museums. With an abundance of charming, historic romantic getaways, you and your family will have no problem establishing a comfortable base of operations for your St. Augustine holiday trip.
It was actually 1513 when voyager Ponce de Leon, then governor of what is now Puerto Rico, arrived in the region, claiming it for King Ferdinand of Castile and Queen Isabella of Aragon as Spain was not an actually unified kingdom until 1516. Contrary to common belief, he was not searching for a “Fountain of Youth” but more material wares such as gold, slaves and land. It was decades before a permanent community could be formed.
Once you and your family are contentedly ensconced in one of St. Augustine’s lovely bed and breakfasts or beach vacation rentals, you will discover enough activities and venues to last a lifetime ranging from outdoor sports and educational excursions to sheer enjoyment and fun. Get started by seeing some of the region as the original inhabitants and early Spanish explorers saw it with St. Augustine Eco Tours, voted the number one encounter among tourists. Traveling by kayak, you will see salt marshes and wetlands and can even encounter natural dolphins at play. And even though it’s vacation time, you can keep the little ones learning with Sheriff’s Historical Tours, which takes you through 350 years of St. Augustine’s history. Another part of St. Augustine history worth viewing is El Castillo de San Marcos, an early Spanish military installation dating from the late 1600s.
Of course, the history of St. Augustine, similar to so many areas in the state, is intimately tied to the Golden Age of the Pirates of the Caribbean who commonly made forays up the Florida coast. Young people of all ages will like to climb aboard the Black Raven for a sample of shipboard life on a 17th-Century privateer.
Budding herpetologists will get a kick out of discovering the last living relatives of the prehistoric dinosaurs up-close and personal at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm which contains much more than just alligators. This is only a small sample of what awaits you and your family in this beautiful town filled with sunshine most of the year.