Before we could get to Marineland we had to pass through Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine. Beautiful homes (mansiona), interesting docks, beautiful flora and fauna line the waters.
Fort Matanzas National Monument lies between the ICW and the ocean. It was built in 1742 by the Spanish in order to protect the Matanzas inlet which could be used as a rear entrance to St. Agustine and bypassing its main defense of Castilla de San Marcos. It is made from coquina, a shellstone found in the area. The Matanzas inlet is named after the executions, or matanzas which is spanish for slaughters on its north shore, of Jean Ribault and his band of Hugenot Frenchmen, the last of the Fort Caroline colonists, by the Spanish in 1565.
A few more curves in the river and we arrived at the Marineland marina.
Fort Matanzas - that's the place I mentioned back in the Spring. Did you take the ferry to the fort? Interesting history lesson there...
ReplyDeleteWe didn't go to Fort Matanzas. I think we could have anchored out beside it and taken the dinghy over to the Fort. I didn't see the ferry. It looked like a great place to stop and yes full of history. Hope we can stop by on our way north in the spring.
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