Day 1 - Barcelona

The cruise left from Barcelona. At Barcelona, there is a monument to the discovery of the New World which has Columbus on top of it pointing out to sea. The monument had four murals on the sides, and four statues on the sides. Then we went to the Maritime Museum, which was near the monument. The maritime museum was inside the old covered shipyard (about the thirteenth century), which the King had built to build his royal ships. Some of the building was modern, but there were parts where you could see the original timbers. Out in the courtyard, there was a recreation of the first Spanish submarine from the 1860's. It was shaped like a fish, and had two lookout holes on the sides. Inside the museum, was a history of the Spanish navy and fishing boats. They had many models which they made in the back part of the museum. It had exhibits on each of the capabilities which a ship needs, the designs which were used, and how they were modified to work better. They also had a full sized model of a galley, which was a ship that was propelled by oars, and the oars were usually manned by slaves and convicts. They also had a lot about the discovery of the world, and copies of the maps which the explorers made. It was interesting but it was large, and by the time we were done my feet were tired.