St. Augustine's Castillo de San Marcos was begun in the later 1600s, a century after the town's beginnings, and, although attacked and besieged several times, it was never taken by force of arms. It did flip-flop back and forth between England and Spain, diplomatically, in the later 18th century, but that was because in those days nobody really wanted Florida. San Marcos is perhaps the smallest castle we have yet seen in our extensive travels, except Nunney, but that was because the realm of Castile and Aragon had, by the 17th century, shot their wad on the wars of religion, losing badly, and were barely holding on to their "New World" possessions. Still, there were many wonders to behold.
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Approaching the fortress, one gets the impression it is a star fort
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As shown in this helpful model, it is, sort of; minimally; small
star; maybe just an asteroid |
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| Alas, there was no Lightning Lane |
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| The waters protected |
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Historical and other background information; among the usual excellent
National Park Service interpretive signage |
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| Walls and cannons |
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| Moat; no alligators in sight |
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Crest of Castile and Aragon: imperial Spain;
sic transit, Gloria |
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Soldiers' quarters; reminded us of some hostels and refuges we've
stayed in, in France, Italy, New Zealand, Nepal |
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| Wall graffiti...ships and such |
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| Not a huge fortress |
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| Gunner's view of parking lot, downtown St. Augustine |
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| Spare cannons |
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| Mortar [original phallic joke caption censored by Vicki] |
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Everything you ever wanted to know about cannons, and then
some |
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| All the nasty things a cannon could fire; in addition to cannonballs |
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And now, the moment you all have been waiting for...the Great
Tidal Toilet of Castillo de San Marcos [click to enlarge] |
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Or what remains; one wonders what they knew about global warming,
rising seas, etc.... |
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