It’s a little over two weeks that I am in the USA now and I’m sorry for not having updated you any earlier. After landing in Charlotte, North Carolina, and crossing three states on my way south (South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama), I am currently spending some time in Pensacola, Florida. In case this name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because of the previous last hurricane that pretty much hit the coast here when it came across the Gulf of Mexico. Apart from documenting the aftermath of ‘Ivan’, I am also visiting Aaron, whom – you may remember – I had met in Tanzania four months ago. Not only do you get to see great places while you travel, you also meet nice people that you can go and visit later on your way!
Pensacola is a typically American town, located in the westernmost corner of Florida’s panhandle. The city got its name from the Panzacola Indians who greeted the first Spanish explorers in 1559, when Don Tristan de Luna led 1400 colonists to what is now Pensacola Beach. But a major hurricane sank ships, drowned livestock, and prompted them to flee a few years later. Pensacola remained abandoned until a new delegation re-established it as an outpost of Spanish colonialism and made it a permanent settlement in 1568 - which makes Pensacola the first city settled by Europeans in America. Its Seville Historic District is one of the oldest and most intact in all of Florida. Within this small neighbourhood is Old Christ Church, Florida’s oldest Church (1832) and St. Michael’s Cemetery, deeded to Pensacola by the King of Spain in 1822. During history, the city has been ruled by Spain, France, England, the Confederacy and the United States, giving Pensacola the nickname “City of Five Flags”.

Nowadays, the Pensacola Bay Area is populated by more than 400,000 people and offers over 80 km of beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, Pensacola Beach is the hub of Santa Rosa Island, one of the longest barrier islands in the world (I’ve been there, it’s beautiful!). Before Ivan came through, it also had one of the longest fishing piers in the US, the old Pensacola Bay Bridge. The bridge is still there but the fishing pier looks more like the wooden writing of a secret Morse Code. Hurricanes excluded, Pensacola prides itself with 343 days of sunshine per year and average annual temperatures of 15 – 25 degrees Celsius. For October the official average is 21 – 26 degrees but the high humidity and still air makes it feel much more to me.

Last weekend Aaron and I went to New Orleans which immediately catapulted itself in the Top Five of my World’s Favourite Cities!! Thanks to its colourful history, it is a great place with a unique blend of many different cultures that create a stunning atmosphere. As one of our tour guides put it: people should not think of New Orleans as one of the southernmost cities of the USA, it should rather be considered the northernmost city of the Caribbean! Please have a look for yourself and check out my latest diary entries and pictures that will be published in the America Section very soon... (by the way, I’m simultaneously completing Africa – Tanzania is almost finished by now!)

Since it looks like I have to correct my opinion that there is no culture in the USA, I will stay in this area for a little longer and do some more weekend trips and excursion from here, using Pensacola as a base to stay. The beaches and water of the Gulf of Mexico are a dream and I have always been a fan of the “North and South” saga (= Fackeln im Sturm), so it’s time to explore more of this famous region!

All the best for now and keep in touch,

Martina :o)

P.S.: For more information on Pensacola, please visit www.visitpensacola.com.

Hi,
Just to let you know that I am off to Boston, Massachussetts, tomorrow to experience the ‘Indian Summer’ (= when the trees change their colour) in New England. You want to know what it’s like? Come back in two weeks and you can read about it here!!

Cheers,

Martina :o)