Inventory
Alfred M. Staehle's Travelogue
1961 Virtual Great World Cruise
This travelogue presents transcripts of letters sent to family & friends by Alfred Staehle and his wife Lois,
relating their experiences of places visited on Caronia's 1961 Great World Cruise. Collated by and shared with us
by his grand-daughter, Sharon Atkins.
Barcelona, Spain
A.M.S…
This evening we sailed out of the rather extensive harbour at Barcelona, the fourth Spanish port we have been
fortunate enough to visit and the largest seaport in the Mediterranean. We've already written a few words
about Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
From Tangier we sailed to Málaga, thence after a day at sea, to Palma, capital of Mallorca, and the
following day to Barcelona. Of these, probably the most interesting to us was the city of Barcelona.
Málaga, Las Palmas and Palma looked Spanish. Even though our travels in Spain have been limited to this
trip, these ports seemed to us to look like what we thought Spanish ports should look like. Barcelona, on the
other hand, seemed less Spanish but rather European (it is, of course), perhaps reminiscent of Paris insofar
as the appearance of its buildings and streets.
From our own reading, architects would vigorously disagree because Barcelona is supposed to have its own
“Catalan” architecture. Except for the weird “Temple of the Holy Family” this escaped us.
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We liked Barcelona, what we saw of it, very much. It seemed clean, orderly, and the Sunday strollers looked so
neat and well dressed. Nowhere did we encounter beggars as we did in other ports. We felt rather frustrated
with what certainly must have been a fascinating, exciting city to have only one day in which to see it all.
12 February 1961
Sunday Lincoln's Birthday
Depart Palma 12.24am
Steam Palma to Barcelona 132 miles
11 Feb &
12 February
programme
Arrive Barcelona 7.12am
Log Abstract…
At: 00:24 (23:24 GMT 11 Feb) Palma departure
At: 07:12 (LT) 06:12 (GMT) Barcelona arrival
Passage: 6 hours, 48 mins.
Voyage Distance: 132 miles
Average Speed: 19.41 knots
The brochure extols…
Barcelona, Spain's premier port and largest manufacturing city, was founded in the 3rd Century B.C. by
Hamilcar Barra, the great Carthaginian general from whom it derives its name. Ruled successively by the
Romans and the Visigoths, it was taken by the Moors in A.D. 713, then retaken by the Franks for
Charlemagne in 801 and became the capital of Catalonia.
When Catalonia and Aragon united in 1137, Barcelona became a flourishing commercial capital and continued
as Spain's great financial centre. The city originated deposit banking in the 12th Century and it became
the rival of the great Italian cities in commerce and finance.
In the 13th Century, the city began to expand - new walls were built, large buildings were erected. Even
today, however, with its narrow streets and imposing public buildings, the old quarter or Gothic section
is a principal attraction.
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, Barcelona became the centre of radical political and social movements
and this lively and inquisitive interest in politics, commerce, art, history - in life itself - is an
outstanding characteristic of Barcelona's people today.
Barcelona 1959
Barcelona 1961
By special request…
DOCTOR IN LOVEFeaturing: Michael Craig | James Robertson Justice at 2.30pm
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Spanish Town - A Glimpse of the Medieval
A.M.S…
The “Spanish Town” itself would certainly have well warranted a full half-day. This is a section of
Barcelona with churches, plazas, village homes and shops, including a Town Hall and a monastery all built for the
Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929.
This to recreate the type of medieval buildings and architecture found in towns and villages throughout Spain.
It is entered, for example, through the “Puerta de Avila”, which is a replica of a gate in the city
of Avila. Everything in this village is a faithful copy of a medieval building from somewhere in Spain.
There are about one hundred such buildings, each representative of an actual Spanish town. In many of these
buildings handcrafted products actually made in that town are being created by craftsmen, such
as glass blowing and gold leaf decoration. Products typical of these towns are on sale, as for example, the
famous Toledo Ware - knives, paper-knives and scissors.
Photographically it is a gem because it gives such a completely satisfying feeling of charm and authenticity.
If one did not know that it was created for an exhibition 32 years ago, one would assume it was in reality
a particularly neat, tidy, artistic section of Spain which somehow had escaped the ravages of time and had been
kept in good external repair.
We Needed More Time!
A.M.S…
To that extent only does it seem artificial and unreal. We had only an hour in this completely delightful spot.
I hasten to add that in no previous port had we a feeling of being unable to reasonably sample the flavour of
the goodies we were seeing.
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While we might have happily lazed in the beautiful gardens of Madeira or taken more time to comprehend Tangier,
in all we were delighted to have visited and contented to leave. However, we felt so sorry not to have seen much
more in Barcelona than time permitted.
Barcelona's Gothic Quarter
A.M.S…
We drove through the “Barrio Gotica” sector which is the old Gothic Quarter, and it was here that we
were reminded of Paris. In this area is located the cathedral; a more dampish and gloomy one than any previously
seen. I must confess, I've never been enthusiastic about cathedrals regardless of denomination, excepting
a very few, especially like St. Peter's in Rome.
Furthermore, I have never felt it respectable, decent, or in good taste for sightseers to parade through or be inside
cathedrals during a religious service. This is exactly what we did. Our guide showed us a special niche for
wives who have troubles with their husbands. The point of showing this to Caronia passengers escapes me!
I'd say the wives on this trip are obviously being treated darn nice by their husbands! We drove by and stopped
at the usual bullring; pretty uninteresting just to look at; about as thrilling as looking at an empty stadium.
Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia
A.M.S…
Some eighty years ago the building of a religious edifice called the “Basílica de la Sagrada
Família” or “The Temple of the Holy Family” began. We are very sure that many more periods of
eighty years will pass, yet still it will not be finished! We were driven there, so we stopped and gazed at it.
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Never has such a weird, grotesque, utterly incomprehensible structure been dreamed up, let alone started.
You don't believe it, even after you've seen it. It has several high, well, I don't know what to call them:
pinnacles, steeples, or what-not. They seem like a cross between a Siamese temple and a factory chimney.
High up over the entrance, there is a stone Christmas tree; very large and painted green. The entire job when
done will be approximately three times the height of St. Marco of Venice, and much higher than St. Peter's.
Half a Month's Rent
A.M.S…
In Barcelona, as in all the World it seems, there is construction and more construction. New apartment buildings
are seen frequently - rent 3000 pesetas for a medium type job per month - that's $50.00. Apparently they have
rent control here too. Our guide says he pays only 300 pesetas!
I gave him a half a month's rent in tips because I had to get rid of the Spanish coins; can't turn them in on the
ship; only paper money. Of course, we saw more than what I've described though there must be a great deal of
interest and beauty which we could have enjoyed - the monastery at Montserrat for example.
