Last Saturday, I woke up early to make sure that I get to personally see the Galeon Andalucia. According to some web pages that I visited, the galleon will be open to the public from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm. We decided to visit the galleon in the morning because more people are surely going to show up after sun-down.
We reached Plaza Independencia at around 10:30. The first thing that we saw was the huge number of people who were already there. It looked like the entire Cebu came out to see what the fuzz was about. Haha. So, yeah, we ended up waiting in line for more than two hours.
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Galeon Andalucia is awesome!!!
[Pretty funny stuff: The guy in front of us turned to me and said, “You look family. Leylander, right?” Hahahaha. It turned out we were standing behind Sir Billy, one of the readers of this site. Hehehe. He was with his cute grandkid who also wanted to see the galleon. Hi, Sir Billy! Hehe.]
By the way, if you’re asking what the Galeon Andalucia is, here’s a quick history lesson for you:
Galeon Andalucia is a replica of a Spanish galleon. The autonomous community of Andalucia in Spain had it created as a cultural and business platform for the region.
The only one of its kind, Galeon Andalucia has the same features as the Galeon Victoria, the very ship which circumnavigated the world from 1519 to 1522. However, Galeon Andalucia is not a replica of Magellan’s famous ship. According to captain Manuel Guillen, Galeon Andalucia is much bigger than the ship used by Magellan.
The ship (with 37 crew members onboard) left Spain in March this year for Shanghai, China. It stayed there for three months for the World Expo. It then docked in several ports including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Manila. After Cebu, the galleon will visit several coastal towns of Cebu before sailing for the island of Bohol.
According to estimates, at least 10,000 visitors have toured the galleon since it docked in Cebu last October 13. Captain Guillen said that the Cebu visit is considered one of their busiest stops.
Tourist and school buses. More buses arrived on our way out!
The long line. Those people with umbrellas are lucky! Hehehe.
Standing in front of my mom was Sir Billy and his grandkid. 🙂
One lucky dude! Hahahaha.
Those two guys in green were queue jumping!!!!
The Philippine flag on top of the mainmast. Awesome!
At last. We’re almost there!
Chairs, finally! We reached the first holding area after two hours.
The second holding area. We’re almost there!
Not to be left behind is the Customs Building. Gorgeous.
First look! My jaws literally dropped. She’s gorgeous!
View from the back part of the ship. Wow!
The rigging. Quite complicated, don’t you think? Hehehe.
Payt Pinoy!
Andalucia, Spain!
One of the many foreign visitors.
Let’s go!
The main deck looks pretty awesome! I felt like a pirate. Nyahahaha.
Nice!
To the captain’s deck.
I’m not sure what it’s called. That’s where they tie those ropes.
The crow’s nest located at the top of the foremast. I got goosebumps when I first saw this!
And look at SRP! Wow!!!!
Bell at the above deck.
Steering wheel near the stern of the ship. Nice!
One of the plaques in the main deck.
The captain’s deck. Very gorgeous!
The below deck! Looking really nice!
The gun deck! This place is so cool!
Watch out Robles Shipping! Hahahaha.
Galeon Andalucia!
A wine barrel. Tio Pepe!
Spanish flag. Viva!
Captain’s cabin.
Details of the gallery
Image of the Our Lady of Guadalupe
What is it, young girl?
Malacañan Sa Sugbo
Picture picture!!!
WOW THE PHOTOS ARE LOVELY! 🙂 Are they staying till today only? 🙂 I wanna go! SOB.
thanks! the tarp says they’d be here until the 24th. but the news said they’re leaving tomorrow…
sa 19th ra diay ? sayang…
boss ley,, libre ra ba ang pag duaw dra?
nindot lageh suroyan..
ahmmm by the way,, basin pwede ko nmo tagaan ug guide. kung unsa on pag ab ot dra boss :)…
thanks..
libre ra boss. pero murag hangtud tonight ra ni at 8pm.
adto lang sa plaza independencia dapit. duol sa pultahan sa fort san pedro. naa didto ang linya…
Awesome… nicely taken photos Ley. Hope they stopover here in OZ on their way back to Spain.
Tnx
Seeing two masters for the first time was truly a moving experience. The master of the old seas and the master of MCPB. ..he..he. Thanks Ley.
I was amazed at the volume of hardwood materials being used by the galeon, from the decks and floors to the mast, doors, rails, steering wheel and even furnitures. The ropes were of abaca and no metal nail was used, not even in the block pulleys and chests on the deck. I wondered where they put the cannon balls. I guess, it’s because of the gun ban.
The visitor could really feel being drawn back in time.
Beautiful captures Lay. I LOVE wood, ropes, knots, lashings and sails. With just these and tons of courage men explored the globe.
Does this ship travel by wind power alone? Or does it (as many sailing ships today) have a motor assist?
Thanks sir Hoz. I think this ship travels by wind power. It took them months to reach China. Hehehe.
As always great images Ley! You’ve captured the essence and enticed us to come and visit Cebu again and again! Can I get you as my photographer? lol!
hahaha. thanks mam judith!
awesome! i feel envious … i wasnt able to hop on board when they visited manila just took pictures from the outside… lucky you and it looks like the organizers at cebu made a better job in controlling the queue. thanks lovely photos at least i got a glimpse of what’s inside 🙂
Hubby and I once saw the Sta. Maria replica, one of the Spanish fleet that discovered the new world that is America now dock here in CT and it is so similar to this . What amazes us is the size of these ships and how brave the navigators/discoverers were to conquer the high seas in vessels so small like this compared to modern day shipping. I think the old generation must be a tad shorter than the present breed because the height of these ships are much lower (even the Spanish castles in Europe have also smaller size beds and furnishings- we are still much shorter though-LOL). So glad Cebu got to experience one of the Spanish galleons, very educational to the kids and it is great that it was done for free. Great shots of the details, Ley, once again. Thanks for sharing.
what can i say, simply she is awesome. . .great job, Ley you captured the magnificence of Andalucia’s beauty with your expertise in photography.
Photos like these make me want to cry. *sob* I really shouldn’t have moved to these boondocks!
wow.. nice pix… sayang wala ko ka anhi…
Sir Ley, na muy sunod na destination… kuyog ko.. heheh kung pwede..
sure… email me your contact number sir. hehe
hi ley pwedi diay mag uban2x sa inyo? wow ha….lami-a kuyog noh nya hapit tas duko2x sa catmon…pakalssssssss hehehe
oks ra sir. hehehehe
This is awesome. Sayang, I missed this. Anyway, hopefully they’ll come back just like Doulos usually does.
hala.. ka nice ani ley.. I missed this.. wa ko kaanha.. na busy man gud. sana next time naa pa.hehe bisan next decade pa…
pirate ship! it’s very nice though.
too bad i wasn’t able too see it personally.
nice ship 🙂