Grand Canyon (AD 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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iiii ' nf ' ' oJkmSnMI.. No bull here. While the ship was moored in Gibraltar, the crew had an opportunity to visit Spain. Some cf us only reached the border towns of La Linea and Algeciras. Here, we found something of old Spain. The people, dark skinned and friendly ; the streets narrow and crowded ; and the churches, the central attraction. For others there were tours to Seville. Seville represented a more characteristic view of the ancient land from which Columbus left on his voyage of discovery. Rolling hills, sloping meadows, tilled with vividly colored wild flowers, olive groves, grain fields and orchards served as the background for the peaceful, ever- white haciendas. W e were reminded of our Mexican neighbors. In Seville we found a city of 400,000 in- habitants. Little Rome, as Caesar termed it, was formerly the leading city in the trade with th Americas. At Seville we found a simple beauty expressed in the Cathedral of St. Ferdi- nand and the Giralda Tower. Across the Guad- alquivir River was the bull ring. From her archi- tecture to her colorful national sports, Spain was all we could have hoped for. And, oh, yes, before we pa.ss on to other topics it would seem only fair to mention that the charming senoritas and the Spanish night life need not take a back seat to the gaietv of Paris or the Riviera. SPAIN

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As we return to the Rock. In myth and fact, Gibraltar stands as one of the wonders of the world. The mighty Eock is still as captivating a sight as one can find in all Europe. Just why men find Gibraltar so unique is perhaps difficult to explain. Basically, it is just so much rock, corrupted by man-made fortifications. And yet, Gib is the key-stone of an Empire. With it and the Suez Canal, the British life-line is secure. Without it, there is no line at all. But it must be something more than military improvements and economic neces- sity that make this huge slab so captivating. It is, perhaps, its historic place in world history that cause so much of our attention to be fo- cused on the Rock. Hardly a person has not heard of the legends of Gibraltar, of the Spanish and British contests for possession, of the mon- keys that must never leave, of Hercules, and of all the other tales which have been told by seafarers and Empire builders from time im- memorial. Turning our attention to other features for a moment, we might say the Gib is also a very pleasant little community. The quite cosmo- politan city is chiefly a large department store. In the various shops, everything is priced so low as to make a price administrator shudder at the prospects of retaining his position. Woolens, china, linen, silks are all to be purchased in this free port. Since there were only two paydays that month, we found it difficult to buy all the things we might have wanted to buy. Yet, we hope you liked that Irish linen tablecloth, or that silk whatchamaeallit. or that set of china. For us Gib meant going home. We saw our friends in the Sixth Fleet being relieved at Gibraltar and we viewed with a jaundiced eye those boots who were ju.st arriving from the States. Thank goodness there are only three weeks left for us. The ROCK — ■ - — - J, Gib ' s Harbor. The Prudential Sign(?). It ' s a long way up.

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SARDINIA Shrimp boat ' s a«coming. Hey neighbor, how the bitin ' ? Can this be Porter? It can.