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The Eagle Was Here.
Mostly we have pelicans and gulls. We have a few sea hawks. But for a few days we had our Eagle. The U.S. Coast Guard’s three-masted barque, the Eagle, was tied up right along the malecon.
Students from our language immersion school visited the Eagle along with thousands and thousands tourists. The Eagle is the only
square-rigger in US government service. It’s a beautiful ship, well maintained, and sharply staffed. Over a block in length and a hundred and fifty feet or so from the water to the top of its mast, Eagle is the seventh cutter to hold the name, a lineage dating from 1792.
Tall ships come to Veracruz once or twice a year. They are a huge tourist event. Eagle’s visiting hours were set to close at seven in the evening. But each evening at seven the line of tourists still waiting to go aboard was too long to count.
We were very proud—the Coast Guard stayed open for business. Americans treating foreigners well. (Except here we and the USCG are the foreigners.) About seven-thirty, members of the USCG handed out tickets to everyone in line. We’re having late evening light, and the breeze is cool. Everyone in line got to visit America’s most majestic, most impressive tall ship.
Eric Langner July 20, 2007 11:41 AM