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This museum is the result of a life's work dedicated
to the sea and the constant dedication of Mr. Francesc Roig Toqués,
who has gradually collected the large number of curiosities that
make up this unique thematic museum. It is well worth the visit.
His connection with the sea started in his youth when
he worked as an apprentice builder of wooden boats on the local
beaches. His hands gradually became more skillful as he learned
the secrets of building small fishing boats, fishing lines with
many hooks, and sardine fishing boats, and the ancient art of making
the triangular sail until, in the end, he became a master builder.
It is a museum where the visitor has to pay attention to every detail,
because each object tells its own story.
Here you will find emblematic pieces from warships and merchant
ships that very rarely end up in museums because they are highly
prized by the ship's captains who make sure this booty does not
to slip through their fingers when the ships are dismantled. To
give just a few examples so as not to go into great length, there
is a figurehead which conserves all the magic of the Romantic adventure
of 19th century sea voyages.
There is also the ship's bell from the destroyer Sánchez Barcáiztegui
(1926) and, next to it, a small artillery weapon from the 16th century
called a "falconet", anchors that are more than 250 years old, tools
used by the carpenters and boat-makers of the coast, a tiny fishing
boat carved out of a grain of millet just 2 mm long, ships' log
books, metopes... There are also thousands of pages filled with
the signatures of visitors from all over the world.
Juanita, the carp
Juanita is a carp that lives in a pond – in the garden
of the museum –. She can eat from a spoon and drink
from a wineskin under the patient guidance of her trainer Mr. Francesc
Roig. Of all her fellow fish, Juanita is the only one who obediently
follows his instructions all the year round except for a short period
of hibernation. She has appeared in hundreds of magazines and television
programmes inside and outside Spain and been the subject of a great
deal of interesting correspondence with people all over the world.
Museu de Curiositats Marineres Roig Toqués
Alexandre de Cabanyes, 2, Baixos
Tel. 00 34 938 154 263
E-mail : museo.carpajuanita@gmail.com
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Museum
of Marine Curiosities Roig Toqués
