Today I was reading my book '365', which has a different historical fact for each day of the year. Today's fact intrigued me as it was about the Fountain of Youth and Ponce de Leon. I had heard the name before but had never really known who he was, so I was intrigued to know more. Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer in the 1500s, he became the governor of modern day Puerto Rico, and whilst he was there he heard about the legendary Fountain of Youth. On the 3rd of March 1513, Ponce de Leon, and his band of explorers, set sail in search of this fabled fountain. Apparently his information lead him to the area which he named 'Pascua Florida' which is how modern day Florida in the United States got it's name. Unfortunately he never found the Fountain of Youth because whilst searching Florida in 1521, a number of years after he set off on his quest, he was killed by an arrow when his exploring party was attacked. Not a happy ending for a man who was looking to live a long life using the waters of the Fountain of Youth!
I found this story interesting, mainly because Florida is now known as the place where many Americans go to retire. I wonder if maybe it is every American's dream to live forever, and they set aside the later part of their life to go searching for the Fountain of Youth. I have been told that when people retire they need to replace work with some sort of hobby, otherwise they get bored. I think searching for the Fountain of Youth is a great hobby. In light of this new information about the Fountain of Youth, it really makes sense that so many retirees head to Florida, because they are obliviously continuing the quest that Ponce de Leon started so many years ago.
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