Praise the Lord and pass the mustard! Or something like that. Today we finally got to visit the Christopher Columbus museum here in Portosanto, Poio, Pontevedra. Indeed, our clear impression was that the place had been opened exclusively for us. The evidence? The speed with which the hypertanned young lady with a disturbing escote closed up as we departed. Oh,and the fact there was no one else in it either when we arrived or when we left. Which wasn't a huge surprise.

The expedition began badly. Sort of. We'd decided to have a coffee in the museum next to the museum, only to find it closed. Which was ironic, as the door to museum was clearly open.

So, here we are - pix of the Columbus family home and the ugly modern 3-storey building attached to it. Complete with a lovely lift which is possibly the least used in the entire world:-

First of all, the one indisputable fact:- The Santa María was certainly built in a local shipyard and launched, I believe, as La Gallega.

Secondly, the alleged fact:-

There used to be a cruceiro - a stone crucifix, you'll recall, with the Virgin Mary on the backside - in front of the house, bearing the name of Juan Colón. Or John Columbus. As to its current whereabouts, no one knows. But it certainly did exist as someone photographed it in 1919. Here are the snaps and a modern stylised version:-

Needless to say, cruceiro is translated not as 'cross' but as 'cruise' in the Manglish version of the museum's handout. 

Next, the famous Galician writers and poets who've endorsed the claim that CC was from hereabouts:-

And the local place names which were reproduced in the New World:-

As for the house itself, here are a couple of pix of how it is now and some drawings of what it (may have) looked like:-

And here are some books and articles supportive of the belief that Portosanto deserves recognition of its claim to fame:-

Finally . . .  The least convincing showcase in the exhibition. High- lighted by the ghostly hand of Truth:-

Footnote: As we left, we saw the café next door was open. So, we took the chance to have our delayed coffee. In surprising silence, as the TV was off. Albeit not for long. Anyway, we were joined by the young lady with the tan and the chest. So we did what any full-blooded male would do and bought her a coffee. For which we got a nice big smile.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.