III. The first seaports: discoveries, experiences and contacts

SAME ENTHUSIASM, MULTIPLE INTERESTS

   The lectures -on Literature, History, and also Medicine or Anthropology- were given to prepare the arrival at the ports. Dr. De las Barras y de Aragón kept a diary where he promptly recorded all on-board activities as well as activities in the visited countries. In each port, excursions were programmed in response to students and professors' different discipline requirements: while some visited Humanities departments from different universities, others went to see hospitals or health centres, while still others were interested in engineering works, or urban and anthropological issues.
 
   The university travellers contacted both their country of origin and the ports of destination. And all this with the means of the time: cables, radiograms, letters... The travellers' relatives received prompt chronicles about the activities and impressions of their sons or siblings. In the same way, the participants in the Cruise wrote news and reports that were printed on board.
 
   The journey was ambitious and highly varied. After the Canary Islands, the leap to America. Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Venezuela... The students established really interesting contacts, both cultural, scientific, and political. And they were in for a rude awakening, as happened in Venezuela.
 
II. The journey, life on board and passengersII. IV.

 

 
48. First draft of the lecture programme of G. Díaz-Plaja and J. Vicens Vives.
49. Letter from C. Taboada to her parents detailing the on-board daily life.
50. Letter from C. Taboada to her parents detailing the on-board daily life.
51. Upon arrival in Puerto Rico, G. Díaz-Plaja writes to his parents and narrates the multiple on-board activities.
52. The expedition chief addresses the Madrid authorities, once the Cruise reached America.
53. The students were invited to a cocktail by the Spanish ambassador in Caracas.
54-55. Chronicle in verse narrating anecdotes about the trip with touches of humour.
56. Unpublished typed copy of a detailed chronicle of the trip, written by Professor F. de las Barras y de Aragón. Source: Royal Botanical Gardens of Madrid.
57. Unpublished typed copy of a detailed chronicle of the trip, written by Professor F. de las Barras y de Aragón. Source: Royal Botanical Gardens of Madrid.
58. Unpublished typed copy of a detailed chronicle of the trip, written by Professor F. de las Barras y de Aragón. Source: Royal Botanical Gardens of Madrid.
59. A souvenir from the cruisers' visit to Cadiz.
60. A postcard from G. Díaz-Plaja enthusiastically talking about the culinary pleasures of the ship.
61. The local press publishes the students' visit to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
62. Prospectus of Las Palmas, edited in English, offered to the travellers by the Catalan Tourism Ministry.
62b. Telegram from Canarias communicating that the journey continues without incident.
63. Upon arrival in America, Dr. Ferrer i Cagigal sends a telegram to the Rector of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
64. Prospectus of the Hotel Condado in San Juan de Puerto Rico, a moment of rest during the visit to the isle.
65 .A peculiar document: a "bond" of the Puerto Rico Republic.
66. The contact with the Universidad de Puerto Rico generated exchanges of publications.
67. Santo Domingo: the travellers visited a fruit market and the fortress of San Jerónimo.
68a. Fragment of a letter from the engineer Manuel Taboada where he narrates some incidents occurred upon arrival in Venezuela.
68b. Manuel Taboada.
69a. Professor Carmen Sivilla also describes the "unpleasant" facts in Venezuela. Source: M. Serrallonga Collection.
69b. Carmen Sivilla.