April 13, 1999 Next.
It was Easter in the year 1513, when Ponce de Leon, who was looking for the Fountain of Youth, sailed past St. Augustine’s inlet. He named it "la Florida" (the flower) because of the abundance of beautiful flowers along the coastline. St. Augustine, established in 1565 by Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, is the oldest permanent European settlement in the continental United States. For 235 years it was the political, military, and religious capital of the Province of Florida from which Spain exercised jurisdiction over a vast geographical region.
Castillo de Marcos is my first stop.
