Visiting the Nina and the Pinta.

Sorry for not posting the first part of the week, but we've had some seriously nasty storms in our area both Monday and Tuesday, and something was up with my internet.  I was unable to post and read email until today for some reason.

Today my family had the awesome opportunity to visit a replica of Christopher Columbus' favorite sailing ship, The Nina.  We also were able to tour The Pinta.  The Nina is as close to the original as could possibly be made.  This ship was actually used in the movie 1492.  How cool is that?

The tour guide that showed us around both of the ships was extremely friendly and knowledgeable.  He told the kids all about how the ships were built, how they compared to the original ships, and so much more.

Its just amazing to think that anyone would want to sail off into the wild blue yonder on such a small ship.  Not knowing what was out there, not even sure of where they were going, sleeping on the deck, dealing with storms, yucky food, animal smells, and so much more.  Obviously, I'm not the adventurous sort.

 

The boys were completely fascinated by the huge tiller used to steer the ship. Here they were looking out the hole that the tiller goes through.

Here are some of the many zillion pictures I took. 

To me, this field trip was made even more special because we are currently studying explorers.  How often do you think you actually get a chance to stand on the deck of an actual sailing ship built exactly like one from 1492?  This was one of those awesome experiences that I hope my kids won't soon forget.