Baltimore (CA 68) - Naval Cruise Book

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GIBRALTAR Our first land after crossing the Atlantic, -The Rock- looked just as we had pictured it, and occasioned the inevitable comparisons with the life insurance symbol. A bad weather start. Gibraltar gave us three days of rain, and our visions of the sunny Mediterranean- were clouded somewhat. However the sun came out in time for a long Sunday climb about the Rock itself, past houses which seemed to hang from the sides of the Rock, up into the police-guarded security zone where were - and presumably still are - all the defenses that are reputed to make the Rock impregnable. Whether in a taxi or on foot, the views on the way up and from the top were magnificent. The fleet reminded us of toy boats in Central Park lake. The sea stretches for miles on either hand. Spain, we imagined, merged into France within our visual range. We turned our heads and there was Africa - and the Straits of Gibraltar. Important and majestic indeed was the mineral deposit we called -The Rock . In town, Gibraltar offered horse-drawn surreys with the fringe on top , - an enjoyable though conspicuous way of sight-seeing. It also offered the finest woolens and yard goods, at what we thought were more than adequate prices. Rolls razors were the favorite item, with cigarette lighters, for some strange reasons, running a close second. .All types of British chocolate were available, and manv the Cadbury milk that was washed down by a cold beer. Gibraltar boasted a Trocadero bar, and we wish to nominate Trocadero as the most- often-used name for a bar. Behind two swinging doors existed what sounded like a Salvation Army band but what turned out to be a -hot Spanish combo with two wild-eyed Flamenco dancers. Needless to say, this place was always well-patronized. In short, despite the eternal difficulties with the British money system, Gibraltar offered ■ suitable groundwork for our later travels.

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GIBRALTAR RELIEF OF THE PITTSBURGH An unusually calm sea befriended us during our Atlantic crossing. Arriving in Gibraltar, we found tbe PITTSBURGH in a state of wild elation. The ship was decorated with trappings from all her ports of call, and the quarterdeck was lined with posters giving hot tipsv on where to go in the Med. The men were stationed all over the upper decks, some with musical instruments (at least two groups were busily playing two different songs at the same time), some with banners and flags, and others, in flagrant violation of the uniform of the day, wearing turbans and robe-like affairs. This latter group was the focal point of the ceremony during which the PITTSBURGH was reUeved by our ship, for, after much salaaming, gesticulating, and jabbering in a wholly original language, the head swami presented CAPT Tedder with the key to the Casbah, and the BALTIMORE was oflBcially launched on her Mediterranean

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