El Galeon Arrives At Port Canaveral For Viva Florida 500 Celebration
By Donna Balancia // May 2, 2013
Viva Florida 500
ABOVE VIDEO:As part of the Viva Florida 500 celebration marking the five-century history of the Sunshine State, a full-sized replica of the ships that served as the workhorses of the Spanish Empire at the time of Ponce de Leon sailed into Miami on Monday to kick off a two-month visit at four ports along the Florida coast.
MIAMI, FLORIDA — El Galeon, a 16th Century, wooden Spanish galleon replica, has arrived at Port Canaveral as it tours the state’s East Coast in celebration of Viva Florida 500 – the anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon’s historic arrival in Florida 500 years ago.
El Galeon is a living piece of history that visitors can tour. The 170-foot, 495-ton, wooden galleon replica sailed into Port Canaveral on Florida’s Space Coast yesterday and will be on display through May 12. It then moves on to Ft. Lauderdale (May 14-19) and St. Augustine (May 23-June 3).
VISIT FLORIDA
El Galeon was the setting for a journalists reception recently in Miami hosted by VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism marketing arm.
VISIT FLORIDA is working with Fundación Nao Victoria and the state’s regional visitor bureaus to coordinate the El Galeon tour.
Like the sailors aboard the El Galeon, the Astronauts with NASA have also spent their lives in discovery of new worlds. For this reason, the ship’s visit to The Space Coast’s Cape Canaveral is particularly significant.
As Kennedy Space Center is the backdrop for the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibition (June 29), El Galeon’s arrival to The Space Coast and Cape Canaveral reinforces the importance of continued exploration.
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