CRUISES
During my service in Manxman we visited many ports around the Mediterranean including Marseilles, Monte Carlo, Civita Vecchia (Rome), Naples, Genoa, Syracuse, Istanbul, Izmir, Haifa, Port Said, Limassol, Famagusta and Kyrenia. Our visit to Beirut was a relief mission rather than a cruise. Our stay was exceedingly brief. We simply went to deliver emergency supplies to the victims of an earthquake, leaving only three hours after arrival.
One of the first places we visited was Livorno (Leghorn). When we sailed into the harbour I was over-keen to take some photographs and made a serious mistake by appearing on the upper deck “out of the rig of the day” – a punishable offence in the discipline code. I was spotted by an officer who immediately put me on a charge and I was later awarded about three days’ punishment which entailed early rising, extra work and no runs ashore. That curtailed my leisure for a while but may have been a blessing in disguise because we National Servicemen were often short of funds and scarcely able to afford the sort of shore-runs that our regular shipmates enjoyed. Lesson learned!
Rome was fascinating. Though it was a slow two-hour train ride from the port of Civita Vecchia we managed a couple of trips to see the sights. But in the city we were apparently as much of a spectacle as the ancient Roman buildings. Our blue uniforms and striped collars were, it seems, an uncommon sight and attracted plenty of attention.
On another occasion we were able to get to Florence and Pisa and climb the famous Leaning Tower, etc.
[Picture: Mike Salts near the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.]
Istanbul was, for me, quite special. I went ashore with shipmate Mike Rippon, a cheeky Cockney with a great sense of fun. While on a bus heading for the old part of the town we fell into conversation with a smartly dressed young student who was keen to learn more of the English language. He had two friends with him, one of whom spoke no English but a reasonable amount of French. Having learned French at school I could converse with him a little. They escorted us to some of the interesting places and bought us light refreshments. They were very friendly and courteous and even offered to meet us the following day. Of course we were delighted to accept the offer. The result was a most enjoyable tour, including a football match and a light meal of Turkish food which, to us, was very strange!
[Picture: Mike Salts with Turkish friends]
From Haifa, Israel, some of us took a coach trip to the historic town of Nazareth, where Jesus Christ grew up - a wonderful opportunity. On the journey, the coach stopped a short while on top of Mount Carmel where, according to the Bible, the prophet Elijah slew the prophets of Baal. (1 Kings 18).
Cruise to IZMIR
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