San Marcos (LSD 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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Cathedral and Almudaina Palace Cathedral and Queen's square. Qi 3, 3, ji 'A l AL!-vw . - ' fp . X:glv1X..M .Lf -431' - -,-f ' '4-' - e K fm l g ' L - - . . , I f v.- . , ,bl Thih 'M n' ' ' 13 x , :,L,,.,wa'f ' in Q .n rail., ..14' N3:gwt' m 5, , A- U v f' -s . - - - f .A 2.2 ' - 1mfxz23 V l 1' e , , ,PW s 1 hi P f 3 aff gg, Y +5 I n Mi, itullifa X EJKPBKFIIYZ: 2 1 fra TQZTSQ' a 7-EL ,ax J I, K . , .4 . 9 A.. , 44 - 1' A I. asf M , - ' ' U E 4 . I an 'Q Now I've just got to see Sweden.

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A typical Street Sloopy' s alma Palma, the capital city of the Balaeric Islands, is a beautiful city of more than 200,000 inhabitants. The city has a double enchantment, with its well-preserved,,picturesque old town and its newer residen- tial areas, replete with gardens, villas, and palatial hotels. Buses, taxis and horse drawn carriages are available for trans- portation to any corner of this spellbinding city, a popular resort spot for vacationing Europeans. The island of Mallorca is always green, and its blanket of many millions of pine trees, olive trees, palm trees, almond trees, oak trees, and fig trees the air with its heady fragrance. It is said that one can tour the whole island by walking on the branches of these countless trees. The author has not attempted such a tour, as the is- land is beautiful enough, even as seen from the ground. Concluding our visit to Palma, we once again turn our heads, and our thoughts, to home. However, our happiness as we anticipate see- ing our friends and families once more is not unmixed with regrets for the end of an enjoyable time in all our European ports. Maritime P romenade

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Q 1 UNDERWAY. 1966 Happy New Year's and Anchor's Aweigh! This is the San Marcos, We're underway. The new Year we started is just about right, With our yard period finished, the SM is tight, Our new Captain, Spielman, and XO started us off with a shakedown cruise to the Carib via Gitmo, The Shakedown taught us what we should know, About shipboard living, survival and so. With our NBC warfare and atomic attacks, The SM can do and know how showed no slack. So through Guantanamo Bay shakedown we went, Then on to liberty in Jamaica, West Indies, we spent The Island in the sun is what it's called, Montego Bay, our liberty port, that wasn't all. We found exciting, through rum and coke The Montego Bay, Jamaica, is no slow-poke, Then homeward bound to Stateside again, To Key West, Florida, for a weekend, But not for long, We're the SAN MARCOS Then on to Rota, Spain, naval station, Another San Marcos routine operation. Our liberty then was in Lisbon, Portugal, The good-looking capital city of the nation. Then we came, to be in port, And it wasn't long before we were caught, This time to carry Alvin the H-bomb chaser, To bring her home to Boston, Mass. She did her bit for public relations. A few weeks later, a surprise note in our P.O.D. The USS Old Ever-ready the SM, Was chosen for a five-month cruise, In the Mediterranean Sea. So to our mission, PHIBRON II was sent. From June to December on landings And liberty we spent. On the beach party in Bomba, Libya, over there The sailors, with the goats, camels, and donkeys, Was quite an affair. Through Italy, Greece, Malta, and Spain, None of them were quite the same. Some of these ports, our second time around, For some old sailors know these towns. The tours and liberty, the rest of us found, Gave us more knowledge of this Old World ground The wine festival in Patrai, Vernon Club in Malta, The PanAm in Barcelona, And the wonderful time in Palma. Through Naples, Taranto, and Genoa too, We finished our Med cruise, 1966, We're through, Homeward bound now, over the Big Pond, Little Creek, Va., our home port station, We look forward to you - Pier 58W Continental ILS, our nation. John Anthony Contes