HANDWRITTEN TRAVEL JOURNAL-DIARY-South America-Earthquake-Landslides-Costa Rica

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HANDWRITTEN TRAVEL JOURNAL-DIARY-South America-Earthquake-Landslides-Costa Rica:
$418.81

INCREDIBLE, HANDWRITTEN DIARY OF A VOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA AND JOURNEYS INLAND, WHICH INCLUDE AN EARTHQUAKE, LANDSLIDES, TORRENTIAL RAIN, RAGING CURRENTS, ETC. THEIR STEAMER LEAVES NEW YORK, JULY 2, 1920, FIRST STOP, HAVANA, CUBA, PANAMA CITY, THEN ON TO COSTA RICA. Fascinating, spellbinding and historically important handwritten daily journal of a young woman; a very brave and quite daring young woman; as she embarks from New York, on the Steamer \"Ulna\" for a voyage to South America, with numerous inland excursions and unplanned adventures along the way. The writer describes the voyage, their travels inland, the beautiful areas of South America, the earthquake, the torrential rain and horrific landslides, the volcano, with such detailed imagery that I could not put this diary down until I had read it cover to cover. She apparently comes from a wealthy Boston family as they stay at fashionable hotels. There are also several additional ancillary handwritten documents tucked into the back pocket of this mesmerizing diary. Has 59 pages of handwritten entries with numerous empty pages at the latter part of the book. [Please view additional scans after the listing].Handwritten entries: \"July 2, 1920. Left Boston on the 1.05 pm train arriving in New York at 7am, took trunks in taxi down to United Fruit Wharf pier 9..then to Hotel Woodstock at 43st Street, comfortable..Next day, July 3, went to the wharf..showed income tax receipt and passport...went on board the \"Ulna\" had stateroom 49 in salon deck...very comfortable...had luxuries in the state room to include a port hole and fans..Laura Hunt stopped to visit after getting a pass to see us off.....sailed along the Florida coast all day..much like Cape Cod, sandy beach, low and flat with few trees..later on we reached Key West and could see the Islands..the Keys..the distance is so great between them that it seems impossible that they could be connected by rail road......July 7, arrived in Havana...five of us took a cab down Prado avenue, now called the Paseo de Marti..Havana\'s boulevard of wealth and fashion where the American consul lives...went to a sugar mill in Toledo..drove past the Vedado where all the fine residences are situated. In the cemetery was a very beautiful statue erected in honor of the firemen...next day, Thursday, July 8 went to the Plaza de Armas at end of Obispo and O\'Reilly Streets\", etc....\"Friday, July 9th, great excitement as the first warship to come to Cuba since the Spanish American War...the Spanish Warship Alphonso XII...about 10am she approached the harbor and the fiesta began...the wharfs covered with people; hundreds of yachts and small boats all flying the Spanish colors...three air ships [dirigibles] hovered about flying very low over the Warship as she took her position almost alongside us..Salutes of all kinds were fired..the Alphonso XII blew whistles of every description...the din was beyond anything I had ever heard before...the black warship was covered with cadets all in white suits, all waving handkerchiefs.....private yachts brought people to the warship and we were supposed to sail out that morning but it became impossible. Great congestion in the harbor also due to the strike of the stevedores many cargoes are rotting because they are still on the wharfs or on the vessels. We finally started about at lunch time to leave the harbor..ah, El Morro and the harbor finally widens out 2 1/2 miles wide, our vessel had docked very near where the Maine was blown up,\" etc. And then the real excitement begins.Very rough seas in the Caribbean on the way to Cristobal, a city in Panama, where they planned to spend a short amount of time, take the railroad inland for a tour, and from there, they were going on to San Jose, Costa Rica, and they were quite excited about seeing San Jose. However once they embarked on the morning train out of Cristobal parts of the journey became a nightmare. \"The train ran alongside of the mountains in many places, and there were rain filled gulleys and a very fast current in the extremely muddy river, and the train was climbing the whole time. It began to rain harder, making so many washouts the train could go no further, there were washouts in every direction, so we had to put back to a station and spend the whole night in the train. They decided to take us back to Limon [on the coast of Costa Rica], and we stayed in Turrialba..constant showers..hard down pours. There were so many washouts near Limon that we had to spend another night in the train..so here we are..on the side track, across the street from the hotel, and there were so many men and boys around the train we were quite afraid. Just then, Manuel Campos, the manager of a large sugar and coffee ranch, came and took us to the ranch of a 1,000 acres, the house was lovely - low Spanish style - veranda with handsome tiles on the floor. It was too wet and dangerously slippery outside so we could not go to the sugar mill. As we were sitting in the morning and our host was talking about hunting, fighting, etc. we suddenly felt the house shaking. There was a most horrible and visible quivering - it was an earthquake! Our host admitted he too was afraid as he pointed to the mountains and told us that straight in front of the house was a volcano,\" etc. Finally, on the second morning of staying at this hacienda, where their hosts were incredibly welcoming, the railroad sent a car for them and they continued on their journey, but their was more fear and more encounters yet to come as numerous boulders had wiped out the tracks for the train and now the walking, the climbing over rubble and debris and rocks that the landslides had carried with them; now that was to begin. And the ship; the Ulna, could only wait for these passengers for so long, hours went by as they struggled to get to a train that would take them back to their wharf. Off the coast of Costa Rica, as their ship approaches the pier, huge waves come crashing and push their boat out to open sea, etc. A fantastic journal wherein our writer mentions other passengers and family to include; Mrs. Griffith; Mrs. Mesick and daughter; Mrs Davis; Miss Davison [Ethelyn Davison, 180, 82nd Street, Brooklyn, New York], Miss Hasbrouck; Mr. & Mrs. Harris; Miss Hirts, etc. She sends letters and post cards home to Mr. & Mrs. S. Madeline; Lillia, Jeanine, Winnie, Lin, Mahalm, Delia, the Osbornes, etc. The writer\'s journey continues in South America, and includes Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Warta, Kingston, Jamaica, Hotel Tivoli in Panama City, the Locks, etc. with a detailed financial record of her expenditures at the back of this handwritten book. Condition: Black pebbled leather on a wallet style, wrap around, \"My Trip\" diary, that is in very good condition and retains the original pencil that is attached. When the diary is opened it has a pocket with additional handwritten notations, and this too retains the original pencil that sits at the bottom of the pocket. The handwritten journal, the penciled entries, all are in very good condition; book is tight and internally fresh, and this is a very worthy acquisition indeed. Measures approx. 5 x 7 inches when closed and opens to 7 x 10 inches with gilt page edges all around. Payment and Shipping: Please see our response and offer with confidence. Never a reserve and very low opening offer as always. For international shipping quote, please contact us. buyers with no established response must contact us before offerding. Payment must be received within 5 days after close of sale. Thank you.

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