Originally Posted by
TruBlu
Some ports were refueling only with one or two days for provisions, but some ports we would spend a week or two. Sometimes returning a couple of times, such as Naples (I took a 4 day weekend to tour Rome) and Villafrance. One or two week stays were (in no particular order, and probably some misspelled): Rio, Lima, Panama City, San Juan, Virgin Islands, Gitmo (yuck), Antwerp, Brest, Malaga, Edinburg, Barcelona, Halifax, Istanbul, many ports in the Caribbean, and probably a few others that I don’t recall of the top of my head.
The ships usually posted a list of blacklisted areas to avoid in some ports. I used these as my guide to “must see” areas. Liberty (free time) while in port was fairly abundant.
And you’re welcome for my service. I managed to have some fun and see some of the world despite being in during Nam. As you can see, as an East Coast sailor, I was never in danger (except for sailing through 1 hurricane and 3 tropical storms).
My special thanks goes to those who served and were in peril, and those who didn’t come home.