We Have Walked ALL the Historical U.S. Southern Atlantic Coastal Slave Trade Routes!

Concluding with the vital Cuba and Spain connections.  We did it.  We really did it. I'm dizzy.  Can't wait to have some peace and transcribe all my notes.  Good thing I did take so many because we're getting confused as to what and when.

By last night in the early summer heat and humidity of east Florida -- in which the Spanish governor abolished slavery in the early - mid 1700's as an act of gratitude to the run-away slaves from Carolina who helped him beat off the Brits, a huge reason both colonial and early Republic US were fixated on getting the Floridas for themselves -- I crashed so hard.  I could hardly take a photo in the castillo or write notes, and there was so much wonderful information that was new to us.  This is Florida and it is still Spanish .... the descriptive texts were bi-lingual*, at least half of the visitors are Spanish speakers ... and the history is told from the Spanish and Cuban perspective, even Oglethorpe's Siege -- which is told very differently in Georgia and South Carolina.  Right down as to why the Siege was lifted after 28 days and nights of shelling, and why Oglethorpe left behind his artillery when he withdrew.  Never mentioned in the South Carolina and Georgia description of what happened at the Siege (during the Brit-Spanish war over here called the War of Jenkins' Ear) that, um, a relief convoy from Havana of Spanish warships with reinforcement soldiers and supplies showed up.  O no -- the Brit Commodore and the colonial land forces withdrew because of the oncoming hurricane season!  Nary a word about the Cuban convoy of Spanish warships ....

Gads, it's awful that every tourist destination only has really horrible music, and no live music scene at all.  (Well, that doesn't mean places like NYC or London.)  What a gorgeous Old Town is St. Augustine, and filled with the most ugly tourist everything. But then, it was like that around the Taj Mahal too, as soon as it was built. And thus it has ever been, even in the ancient world.

In the meantime wonderful news of a whole series of Las Vidas Perfectas dates for 2014 which I can't talk about yet came in, as well as a date for Ned this fall in -- Cardiff! And another in -- Kalamazoo, MI.

I fly home this afternoon, after touring North America's oldest house.  So much writing to do.

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* This is the only national / Park Service / State Department / World Heritage site of the many we visited that included any language than English.  This is different in NYC, where we generally have a half dozen languages, and at least English and Spanish.