Many of the navy crew headed for the Cosmos, a bar/cafe/restaurant on the Ramblas not far from the harbor area. The Cosmos became a meeting place for both the navy detachment and our merchant marine crew. In the evening people migrated to a place called "Discoteca Kit Kat", not far away. Most of the oceanographers headed for Palma de Mallorca. One of the Sperry reps went to Paris, us usual, and the second mate left on vacation.
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| In Barcelona everyone met at the Cosmos Bar on the Ramblas in the summer of 1963. From left: Andy Douglas, Jerry Hayes, (unknown, probably MSTS), Marty Rombach. Photo from Marty Rombach. |
Our sister ship USNS Dutton was already in port. I met some guys I knew in navy tech school and, ignoring the sewage problem, we went to San Sebastian beach. Later we headed for the Cosmos, where I was greeted by questions like "what happened to you?". Everyone already had a head start on me!
At that time, and until 1975, Spain was run by Generalissimo Franco, known as"El Caudillo". The civil guard policed the place driving around in jeeps, two soldiers facing forward and two toward the rear. All were armed with automatic weapons: submachine guns and rifles. While Barcelona was the center of Catalonia, its culture and language were suppressed by the autocratic regime.
Barcelona was known as a favorite navy port but no real naval vessels visited while we were there. That's not counting Michelson, with a merchant marine crew and twenty-odd navy sailors incognito wearing civilian clothes. A lot of American GIs stationed in Germany traveled to Barcelona for R&R leave and 72 hour passes.
The Ramblas is famous as a pedestrian mall. Getting around was easy on foot with a lot to see. The Plaza de Cataluña (Plaça de Catalunya, in Catalan) with its sidewalk cafés, shops and El Corte Inglés department store was a short stroll up the Ramblas. Shops and stores, but not cafés, closed for a long siesta in the afternoon.
I had to check out the statue of Columbus, located at the foot of the Ramblas. While an Italian, C.C. sailed for the king of Spain. Those who remember the poet Allen Ginsberg may recall his lines:
"I have seen the statues of heroes ...
Columbus in Barcelona
pointing Westward up the Ramblas
toward the American Express"
Columbus is not pointing west toward America. He actually points out to sea, in the direction of North Africa. Perhaps the great poet of the beat generation was misinformed or maybe using poetic license.
Here's an idea for historical revisionists. The UN or some other august body could have his statue properly reoriented, or even made to rotate once every 24 hours, thus dispensing culturally correct direction to all.
