When Christopher Columbus left on his second voyage to the Americas, he left from El Puerto de Santa María. He even lived in the Castillo San Marcos in the centre of El Puerto for a while!
Nowadays, this castle is one of the highlights of a visit to El Puerto. Our groups on a school trip are given a splendid tour of the castle, including the old mosque part from before it transformed into a fortified castle as well as the bodega where local sherry is produced. The tour ends with juice and crisps for the students and sherry tasting for the teachers!