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All Diaries  Prior: 1908 Hunt Yukon  1910-11 Safari, Europe, USA  Next: 1918 Campo Winter

Safari in British East Africa (Kenya)
plus Travels in Europe & the U.S.

June, 1910 — May, 1911
(age: 51 years)

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1: Maps & Diary  2: Game  3: Ships & Hotels  4: Supplies, etc
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Travel: Arg. — England — B.E.A.

Alfred was not shy of spending his money on himself, always travelling first class.  He sailed on the “R.M.S.P. Aragon”, leaving Buenos Aires on June 10^th and arriving in London on July 2^nd.  On board he was accompanied by his brother Johnnie and wife Marjory, as well as several aquaintances, amongst them we can identify: Miss Dawney, Mr. Lambert, Charles Jewell and son, and Mrs. Bischoff (a fellow teacher of Clara E. Allyn, wife of Alfred's older brother Willie).

On the 12^th September, 1910, Alfred and Todd sailed from Marseilles on the “R.P.D. Adolph Woermann”, booked to Kilindini, the port of Mombasa (British East Africa, today Kenya); where they arrived after 19 days.  They took the train from Mombasa to Nairobi, a five hour ride.

Buenos Aires — London R.M.S.P. “Aragon” Travelled: June, 1910	Marseilles — Kilindini R.P.D. “Adolph Woermann” Travelled: Sept.12 - 30, 1910
Passenger List — 19 June, 1910 (Source: Stuart Pryor)	Passenger List — 12 Sep., 1910 (Source: Stuart Pryor)
Built: 1905 (9,588 t.), sunk: 1917 (Source: Simplon Postcards - click here for other ship cards.)	Built: 1906 (6,268 t.), scrapped: 1938 (Source: New Zealand Maritime Record)
Kilindini — Mombasa — Nairobi Uganda Railway Travelled: about Oct. 1st, 1910 Uganda Railway, B.E.A. — General Map, 1910 (Source: Stuart Pryor)

Travel: B.E.A. — England — US — Arg.

Alfred returned to England on about January 20th, 1911, having travelled from Kilindini (the port of Mombasa) to Marseilles on the “R.P.D. Prinzregent”.  He spent less than ten days in England, some of them at Todd's home, Mereside, Bromfield, Cumberland (see the letterhead on Alfred's comparison of taxidermist rates).

On January 28^th, he sailed on the “R.M.S. Lusitania” from Liverpool, arriving in New York on February 3^rd.  He most likely went to the States to see Willie, his older brother.  Willie was staying with his in-laws, the Allyn family, in Corsicana, Texas. He had been feeling poorly for some time and was there seeking medical treatment.  He died there April 1^st, of kidney failure.

Per Alfred's list of hotels, it seems he did not sit around Corsicana waiting for Willie to die.  Restless as usual, he took a tour out west, visiting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fort Ross, and the Grand Canyon.  It is very likely he took an excursion out to Santa Catalina Island - why else would he have kept the brochure (see below).  He also took the time to visit some of the major cities: Washington, New Orleans, Boston, and New York.

On April 20^th, Alfred sailed from New York on the “S.S. Verdi”, arriving in Buenos Aires in mid-May, 1911.  He stayed the night of May 18 at the Savoy Hotel in Rosario, Santa Fé.  He had been gone almost a year, of which at least 75 days were spent at sea.

Kilindini — Marseilles R.P.D. “Prinzregent” Travelled: about Jan. 1 - 20, 1911
Passenger List — 1 January, 1911 (Source: Stuart Pryor)	Dinner Menu — 17 January, 1911 (Source: Stuart Pryor)
Liverpool — New York R.M.S. “Lusitania” Travelled: Jan. 28 - Feb. 3, 1911
Saloon Passengers Handbook & List (Source: Stuart Pryor)	Built 1906 (31,550 t.), sunk: 1915 (Click here for more about the Lusitania.) (Source: Stuart Pryor)
	Abstract of Log (Source: Stuart Pryor)
Santa Catalina Island California, USA
	Panorama of Avalon, c.1910 Back of Brochure (Source: Stuart Pryor)
Brochure, c.1910 (Source: Stuart Pryor)
New York — Buenos Aires S.S. “Verdi” Travelled: April 20 to May 15, 1911
Cabin Passenger List (Source: Stuart Pryor)	Programme of Sports April 27 - May 3, 1911 (Source: Stuart Pryor)
South America Lamport & Holt Line — Brochure, 1911 — (Source: Stuart Pryor)	Built: 1907 (6,578 t.), sunk: 1917 (Source: Blue Star Line.)
Rosario Savoy Hotel May 18, 1911

Hotels stopped at on travels 1910 — 1911

During his year of travel, Alfred stopped at many hotels, near 30 per his list alone.  He most likely compiled the list after his return for it is written on the stationary of a livestock auction company with facilities in the provinces of Santa Fé and Córdoba.  In the absence of a diary, the list tells us where he travelled, but probably not all of the places - for example, the list does not tell us if he travelled to Corsicana, Texas, where he was likely put up by relatives.

Note: The Gran Hotel Central in Rosario was still in business in the early 1950s.  It had two lion statues, one each side of the foyer.  The lions were at rest, staring regally at the entrance - very impressive to a child (me).  My parents stayed at the Central whenever in Rosario: weddings, polo tournaments, my tonsils (great chocolate icecream), etc.

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© Peter Benitz (Benitz Family)