Success!

The internet lost anchor of the Santa Maria has been found! Of course it hasn't moved in many years, but according to the internet, and my newest nemesis Wikipedia, the anchor supposedly had been destroyed or in some distant non-existent museum built in 1938. Not so.

I took a quicker trip with the motorcycle across town to visit the National Museum, the one across from the National Palace. The security guards out front were not very enthused about my wanting to park in the parking lot, but they did not have the parking lot gate open, even though they had been open for an hour. I guess that is a special privilege. So I smiled sweetly and asked politely so they let me jump the curb and park in the lot. I feel better leaving the moto inside the fence than out on the street.

I paid my $1.25 entrance fee and got a personal guided tour of the museum in Air Conditioning. Suffice it to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was about 20 minutes late getting back for school. There the rusty anchor was, standing some 8-10 feet tall, 4-5 feet wide and looking just as I had hoped and imagined. Unfortunately, I abide by the rules and took no pictures. Looking back I really should have asked my tour guide if I could.

The museum is small, but well done. It does a great job of covering the history of Haiti. There are not that many artifacts, but what they do have is well displayed, and tell a great story. Most memorable are the anchor, slave shackles, and the gold crown of King Faustin. There is also a great art exhibit of great Haitian artists.

Looks like we will actually get to take a field trip with the kids soon. And I am excited to share more with them what we have been studying: In 1492 Columbus made the first of four trips to the Caribbean in three Spanish ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

Now I am off to correct Wikipedia...