Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

The Naval Museum

Veracruz, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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Veracruz, Mexico offers some interesting attractions for a visitor such as the fort that Hernan Cortez built in the 1500s, the Aquarium, and the international trading port. But a feature not to be missed is the Historical Naval Museum.

The building where the museum stands today was completed in 1898.

Map of Veracruz showing the location of the Naval Museum

During the Mexican Revolution, there were many battles on the Mexican border and into the United States.

On April 9, 1914, there was a battle between the US Navy Sailors and Mexican troops at Tampico, Tamaulipas and this battle severed diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In response to the Tampico Affair, President Wilson asked Congress to approve an armed invasion of Mexico, which they did. Admiral Fletcher was sent to the port of Veracruz, and invaded this building on April 21, 1914, which at the time was occupied by the Mexican Naval Academy. The naval cadets defended their school, city, and country against the American invasion.

Two sides to every story!

Two tickets at INAPAM price

We have spoken about the discounts our INAPAM cards give us.

Here, we were able to enter the museum for 30Pesos each, about $1.50USD.

Outside of the museum

I don't know who the helicopter on the lleft belongs to, but the mast right next to it is owned by the ship district of Netzahualcoyotl.

Nezahualcóyotl is a city located in the state of Mexico, next to the east side of Mexico City.

Until the 20th century, the land on which Ciudad Neza (short for Nezahualcoyotl) sits was under Lake Texcoco and uninhabited. Lake Texcoco surrounded the city of Mexico and in "the olden days" when the Aztecs lived there, one could only get to what is now Mexico City by boat.

Successful draining of the lake created new land, which the government sold into private hands. Today, Ciudad Neza is a sprawling city of over one million, entirely with modern buildings.

However, today, Mexico City still suffers from the sinking of the land (and the buildings on them) and due to the huge population of Mexico's capital city, they still have potable water problems.

A replica of a combat ship

This combat ship is especially made for the "littoral zone" in the sea areas of Veracruz.

The littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely met, to shoreline areas that are permanently under water.

Principal Patio

Entering the museum is this large patio, with a map of the whole world painted on the tile flooring.

The Naval Historical Museum has 18 rooms. Among them are Pre-Hispanic Navigation, Geographical Discoveries, Chemistry Room, Mapping Room, Early Expeditions, the Conquest of Mexico, the New Spain, and Fortifications and Piracy.

Behind every door you see here, both first and second floors, is a room containing information and naval pieces.

Initially, we rented a bluetooth electronic device with headsets which was to tell us about what was going on in each room.

First, we couldn't get it into English. Then it was too loud and we couldn't adjust the volume. Lastly, when we were in Room #1, it told us about things that were 7 rooms away.

Sadly, we had to return the devices to the desk and walk around on our own.

Replica of a frigate warship

This is a copy of the Chapultepec Frigate built in 1899.

Frigates were small, maneuverable, sailing vessels able to give an advantage over larger more cumbersome ships during times of war.

Notice the row of cannons coming out from the ship.

Inside the replica warship

This open side allows one to see what this ship looks like on the inside.

The bottom level holds all the gunpowder, the cannon balls and other munitions for the ship.

Then you can see the supplies, the bunks, and the open upper decks.

Wheeled cannon and cannon balls

Cannons are a type of heavy artillery weapon first used in China centuries ago.

They were among the earliest forms of gunpowder artillery, and were used for generalized destruction, as in breaking down the walls of a fort or blasting a whole section of a military regiment.

The first cannons in Europe were probably used in Iberia, during the Islamic wars against Spain, in the 13th century.

Wooden ship's wheel

This ship's wheel is a classic design made entirely out of wood with interior spokes.

These types of wheels were big and were sometimes a two-man effort. Traditional ship wheels were advanced for the time.

Old time naval photo

Unfortunately, there were not many signs explaining things we saw in the display rooms.

Had the bluetooth device worked, we might have been able to get information about the name of this ship, the year the photo was taken and some sort of meaningful reason why we were looking at it.

We often had to guess, or make the most of the few descriptive signs that were available.

Replica of the Guanajuato warship

This is the rendition of the C-07 Gunboat Guanajuato warship.

The original ship was eighty meters in length and twelve meters wide and was built in Spain.

Since it was decommissioned in 2001, today it is an Interactive Naval Museum located at the wharf downtown in the City of Boca del Rio.

Helicopter on main patio

This helicopter is right next to the mast right owned by the ship district of Netzahualcoyotl in the open patio in front of the Naval Museum.

There was no sign or information about who this helicopter belonged to, so I can't let you know!

Unlike museums in the States, our friend was able to climb right inside this helicopter for his photo to be taken.

We would recommend seeing this museum. Chances are that the bluetooth devices will work for you. It's totally possible that this was a glitch on the day that we went.

_______

Museo Naval de Mexico

Phone +52 229 931 4078

Calle Mariano Arista No 418

Veracruz 91700 Mexico

Opening hours Tuesday through Saturday, 8:15am to 5pm

Website: http://www.semar.gob.mx/museonavalmexico/index.htm

Email: musnavllarta1@hotmail.com

For more stories and photos about Veracruz, Mexico, CLICK HERE

For more stories and photos about Mexico CLICK  HERE

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