Marseilles to Algiers

January 29 1953 

We had a lazy morning (for us) in bed, only getting up at 08h00!   We packed up our overnight cases, paid our bill and caught a taxi down to the boat. We passed through Customs and then sat in the 'waiting room' until 10h45. Suddenly, everyone in the room made a dash to the boat, so we decided that maybe it would not be a good idea to get left behind!    There must have been some hidden signal that we did not know about! It was a lovely ship and when we boarded, we were taken to our cabins where we quickly dropped our cases, so we could go up onto the deck to watch the tugs pulling us out to sea. 

Looking across to the land, we could see the famous Château D'If on our left. The chateau, whose first stone was laid in 1516 by King Francois 1 and finished in 1529, was built as a fortress to guard the port of Marseilles. It is built on a rocky island in the Mediterranean and in 1634 the chateau was used as a detention centre for political prisoners. It is now mainly a tourist attraction and the island is uninhabited. The chateau was made famous by the French writer Alexandre Dumas, in his 19th century novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. 

 Château D'If 

The weather was definitely much warmer than we had encountered in the last few days, and we knew now that we had to be heading for the sunny coasts of North Africa! We had no idea if meals were included in the fare, but after having made our way out to sea, we decided that the dining room was a good place to visit next. Regardless of the hole it might make in our travel budget, we sat down at 12h15 to what was a sumptuous lunch. We ate solidly until 14h00 and the meal included everything one could think of, from cold meats to lobster and coffee to red and white wine. Mum had visions of Dad, who had been an engineer in the Merchant Navy, having to take on a job to pay for the feast, while the rest of us might have to take on the washing up for several trips - what a thought! No bill was forthcoming when we left the dining room, so we thought rightly that all meals were inclusive. Feeling extremely full, we went down to the cabin and unpacked the necessities, including the pack of cards and had a very lazy afternoon in the lounge. At 16h00 we were served tea and cakes, after which we decided that a walk was really necessary before the Land Rover collapsed under all the extra weight it was going to have to carry!    At 19h00 the gong was rung to say dinner was ready! I think that we must have been worried about starving for the next few weeks, as off we went and spent an hour and a quarter on a five course meal. 

We then went for another stroll around the deck, as none of us could have possibly slept, having over-eaten during the course of the day. We suddenly realised that we needed to put our watches back another hour, having already had one time change in France.

I went off to bed, while the others went to see what was happening in the lounge. Apparently everyone there seemed to be playing some sort of game,

but it looked far too strenuous and as they knew there was an early start ahead of us the following morning, it was decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and they all came down to join me in the cabin. 

January 30 1953 

We had a wake-up call at 05h30. We did the necessary chores, and dare I say it, we went off to the dining room for breakfast!   We docked at 06h30 when 'swarms' of Arabs came aboard to carry off luggage etc. For this we were very grateful. Not only did they carry everything for us, but we suddenly became part of the 'family' and went through Customs at great speed, only waving our British passports under the noses of the Customs officers!    We were on North African soil and the adventure was about to begin!

Dad went off with one of the Arab porters, while the three of us sat and waited for the Land Rover to be offloaded. We were busy watching all the hustle and bustle of the docks, when we saw that the offloading was beginning, with a few cars. Sometime later, we saw the Land Rover in the air and next thing, that was also ashore. There was a lot to do before we were on our way again, meanwhile the three of us got a taxi and went off to the hotel. Having stayed at the same hotel in 1951 when I had decided I wanted to holiday in Africa, we knew what to expect. Everyone seemed very pleased to see us again and all the same staff were still at the hotel. Dad meanwhile was trying to make sure that we had all the necessary permits, including ones for the guns. 

It was a beautiful day and we knew that we were definitely under an African sky. The sun shone down and the sky was a cloudless blue!   What a difference from the chilly England of a few days earlier, and the snowy roads that we encountered in France. We walked through the beautiful gardens with their waving palm trees, and marvelled at such a day for the end of January. Time to pack the duffel coats away!   We wondered what the weather was like in England and felt sure that everyone would still be freezing over there. Dad returned to the hotel and then went off to the A.A. office, which was close by. He discovered that we could do nothing until Monday, as we had to get a signature on a document to present to the S.A.T.T. (Société Africaine des Transports Tropicaux).

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1

Travelling Through France to Marseilles

January 25 1953    Land Mileage 0283

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, we packed up and eventually got under way again at 10h00.   It was a very cold and chilly day; thank goodness we had a heater!  We drove on until we reached a small village where we had a quick stop over, and then onwards to Lyon and a hotel stop for the night.  The city is known for its historical and architectural landmarks and the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière on the hill is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was a pretty uneventful day in all, the vehicle was going well and David and I loved every minute of it.   We found the pack of cards which kept everyone amused until dinner time.   I think that we used to play rummy, but not having played cards for many years, the skill has now been lost!!  Nowadays of course, I would have been out running around with the camera and blogging!!

January 26 1953        Land Mileage 0506

We woke up very early and ordered breakfast to be served in the bedrooms.   There would not be much luxury from here on, so we decided to spoil ourselves while we could.   We had eggs and bacon around 08h00; what could we have been thinking of?   English breakfast in France!   We packed up again and left Lyon around 09h30. 

I still had time to make a snowball - watch out!!

Snow and ice were the order of the day; this was exactly what we had been afraid of; so the progress south became even slower.  We sat in the Land Rover like four Eskimos, all huddled up in our coats, with the heater on full blast. Upon our arrival in Montélimar (famous for nougat and its lavender fields) we decided that we should try to find a shop and get some cheese and fruit.   Numerous shops sold nougat, but it took us quite some time to find our requirements.  Having done our shopping, we drove through the very picturesque town and stopped on the other side to have our snack.   We managed to find a spot by the edge of a field that had some shelter from the very icy wind, which was still bearing down on us.   It was very cold, but we felt that we really needed to stretch our legs, so we braved the elements to go for a short walk.    

Suspiciously it looks like both David and I have snowballs in hand...

After all the exercise, we huddled back into the Land Rover, heater on, and proceeded on to Marseilles where we arrived at around 16h30.  Marseilles is the oldest city in France and the second largest, after Paris.

The hunt was then on for an hotel which we found just off the square.   Routine took over and the usual, unpacking, a bath and a cleanup before strolling around the streets window shopping.   The weather was definitely warmer here, for which we were more than grateful.   We found ourselves a nice little cafe and dare I say it, had a very English dinner before retiring for the night.   That is, all but David, who was intrigued by the sights of Marseilles and he went off on his own to have a look around.

January 27 1953      Land Mileage 0716

After a good and restful night's sleep we decided to have a French breakfast, which was light and thoroughly enjoyed by all of us.  

We were not particularly hungry and I was not really feeling well.   We had planned to stay in Marseilles for a day or two, so we left the Hotel to go to the Maritime office to check to see if all the papers and tickets were in order for the Mediterranean crossing to Algiers.   This process indicated that all was exactly as it should be.   We had a look around the docks and by the time we decided that we should go back to the hotel, I was feeling really ill.   Mum insisted that I lie down on our return, which I was more than happy to do.  By now it was lunch time (our days seem to be made up of eating!) and Mum, Dad and David went off for a quick meal, leaving me to have a sleep.

Later the weather had improved and it was decided that perhaps fresh air would solve my problem.   We found a taxi and off we went to the Zoo.    Not the most exciting trip we had ever done, but the sun was shining and we were fascinated by a chimp who was smoking a cigarette.   Looking back it seems cruel that people could tempt a chimp into such bad habits, as I am sure that the end result would have been anything but good for him.   On our return to the hotel, I certainly seemed to have improved.   Dad went out with David to buy a chain and padlock to lock up some of the items in the Land Rover.   We were worried what might go missing while the vehicle was in transit to the North coast of Africa.

Mum wrote some post cards to let everyone know back home how we were getting on and then we played cards again until bedtime.   My mother slept in my room that night in case I took a turn for the worse, but I certainly seemed to be rapidly improving from whatever had set me back during the day.

January 28 1953

The weather had improved again, so after breakfast we went for a walk around the docks and the quay.  

It was quite an experience to watch the loading and unloading going on and it left us in little doubt as to what was going to happen next in our lives. 

In the early part of the afternoon, we had to take the vehicle to the Gare Maritime so we packed everything up that was necessary and then locked up as much as we could.   The port officials wanted to siphon out petrol from the tanks for safety reasons, but to their disappointment, we had worked out almost exactly what would be required and there was nothing to remove!   We then took the vehicle down to the boat and watched it being loaded.    It was put on by crane and this took some while, with much shouting, pushing and swinging (to us, somewhat precariously) around.    In the end it went up and over and was put down into the hold.    

I was obviously on portmanteau duty when Dad took this photo! 

We then celebrated this event with a bottle of cherry brandy, which we bought for six shillings; very expensive at the time!    Even I was allowed a very small glass! This went down well with some ham and fruit and we then went back to the hotel; there it was decided that I had better have an early night, although I seemed to have fully recovered from whatever had upset me the previous day.

To be continued :-) 

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1