FUERTE NIEBLA

In this historic Spanish fort, the visit will be instructive, accompanied by a wealth of anecdotes. To begin with, the 240 soldiers were divided into 4 barracks with a total of 120 beds. The warm bed system was practiced: while the first contingent slept, the second kept the fort and vice versa. We then go down to the gun battery, half of which is made up of replicas. The cannonballs fired by these cannons weighed between 8 and 11 kg. Their range was up to 700 metres. They were called bolas rojas because they were previously heated to red in the hope that one of them would reach Saint Barbara's (the place where the powder was stored) of the enemy ship and blow it up directly. The small cavities visible in the rock served as shelters for the soldiers. They were smaller than a man's waist so that the soldiers had to stay on their knees and not fall asleep. The fort's cannons were in fact never used, as no one dared to enter this bay reputed to be inviolable, no one except Cochrane, in 1820. It should be noted that only Spaniards took part in the construction of these forts. By royal order, it was forbidden to use indigenous labour to prevent any leakage of information. A very interesting small museum has been opened inside the old barracks. It shows maps of the bay, plans of the forts, uniforms of the time, accompanied by many explanations on the manufacture of cannonballs, etc.