Tall Ships

The Tall Ships have been visiting Boston for the past several days, and they are all docked along the waterfront so that people can come visit and admire them.  Memories4Me, Mr. W, and I duly strolled down to have a gander, and were thrilled to discover that we could actually board some of the vessels.  (We toured BAP Union from Peru).  Lots of fancy rope coiling, shiny brass, swabbed decks, and polished varnish to be seen! 

The ship in the main image above is not the one we toured -- this is Esmeralda from Chile.  She has a tarnished and unpleasant history -- she was used as a prison ship and torture chamber for political prisoners during Pinochet's regime in the 1970's.  We saw her in the harbour in Valparaiso when we were there last February.  I hope and assume that these days she is used for much kinder things.