On April 21 through 29, 2011, the training sail ship of the Navy of Venezuela “Simon Bolivar” was moored at the upstream part of the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment. On behalf of the senior management of Venezuela, the barque “Simon Bolivar”arrived in our town in the course of a training voyage with a mission to strengthen the friendship between the Russians and the Venezuelans.
On April 21 through 29, 2011, the training sail ship of the Navy of Venezuela “Simon Bolivar” was moored at the upstream part of the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment. On behalf of the senior management of Venezuela, the barque “Simon Bolivar”arrived in our town in the course of a training voyage with a mission to strengthen the friendship between the Russians and the Venezuelans.
The ship’s crew consists of 168 people – staff and cadets, 13 girls among them. Many of the townspeople had time to visit the sail ship “Simon Bolivar”. On April 28, the vessel was also open to the public from 9:00 to 21:00.
On arrival to St.Petersburg on April 21, Captain Carlos Alberto Martin, accompanied by Hugo Jose Garcia Hernandez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Venezuela, and Rear Admiral Nestor Jomar Colon Colina, Attache of the Embassy of Defense, visited Smolny. On behalf of the Government. the guests were welcomed by A.V. Prokhorenko, Member of St.PetersburgGovernment, Chairman of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations.
Within the confines of the visit, on April 25, the commanders and cadets of the ship laid a wreath at the foundation stone at the Park of Tercentenary of St.Petersburg marking the future monument to Venezuelan national hero Francisco de Miranda, who visited St.Petersburg in the era of Catherine II and proclaimed the independence of Venezuela 200 years ago. Opening of the monument will take place this summer.
St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations organized a sightseeing overview of the major attractions of the city for the commanders of the sail ship. The officers visited the State Hermitage and the Peter and Paul Fortress.
A thickly-scheduled program of the stay of the “Simon Bolivar” crew in St.Petersburg also included visiting by the cadets the St.Petersburg Naval Institute, the Museum of Leningrad Siege and Defense, Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery, Naval Museum, and Cruiser Aurora.
News Source: St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations