A wooden replica of a 17th century galleon berthed at Grand Harbour yesterday contrasted with the sleek luxurious lines of two giant cruise ships.

Galeón Andalucía is somewhat of an anomaly, in more ways than one. Finished a month ago, its outward 1600s appearance belies the modern hull housing two propellers, which are controlled by a special computer in the captain's cabin.

Leaving the port of Malaga on April 1, the galleon's trip to Malta was the first long-distance voyage it made on its way to the World Expo in Shanghai. It will now head off to Haifa in Israel.

The vessel, built by volunteers of the Nao Victoria Foundation, is a floating ambassador of Andalusian culture, and was built in the Huelva region, from where Chris-topher Columbus left on his first voyage of discovery.

It looks and smells like what a new seagoing vessel would have in those days and the builders have made sure the galleon looks the part, even down to the cannons in the gun deck.

Curro Castillo, 36, from Madrid is a crew member. This is the first time he is working on a vessel, as he is a human resources manager for a pharmaceutical company.

"Life on board is fun. We joke around all the time. Life here is harder when compared to life ashore. We don't have hot water and those things," Mr Castillo said.

The galleon was yesterday open to visitors, with tourists and their cameras buzzing round the ship along with intrigued locals.

Gloria Carballeda and her son Francisco Gonzalez de Salceda, from Mexico, were passengers on the nearby cruise liners. "We're very surprised to see this boat here. We never thought we'd be on a boat like this in our lifetime," Ms Carballeda says.

Mr Gonzales de Salceda would actually prefer having a cruise such a boat rather than a modern liner: "When you go in a big ship, you just don't feel you're on the water because it's like a hotel. But here, you are in touch with the sea and that's amazing, a totally new sensation."