Singapore.

During the voyage to Singapore he carefully observed

the people and the things on board the steamer. There were
sixteen passenger, including himself five or six ladies, many
children, and the rest gentlemen. He was the only Filipino, the rest
were Spaniards, British, and Indian Negroes.
The ship captain, Donato Lecha , from Austurias, Spain,
befriended him. Rizal described him in his travel diary as an
affable man, much refined than his other countrymen and
colleagues that I have met. He was, however, peeved by some
Spaniards (his fellows passengers) who spoke ill of the Philippines,
to which they go for pecuniary reasons.
To while away the tedious boredom of sea voyage, Rizal played
chess with his fellow passengers who were much older than he.
He defeated them many times, for he was a good chess player.
On May 8, 1882, while the steamer was approaching Singapore,
Rizal saw a beautiful island. Fascinated by its scenic beauty, he
remembered Talim Island with the Susong Dalaga.
The following day (may 9) the Salvadora docked at Singapore.
Rizal landed, registered at hotel de la Paz, and spent two days on
a sightseeing soiree of the city, which was a colony of England. He
saw the famous botanical garden , the beautiful Buddhist
temples, the busy shopping district, and the statue of sir Thomas
Stanford raffles ( founder of Singapore).
From Singapore to Colombo. In Singapore Rizal transferred to

another ship Djemnah, a French steamer, which left Singapore for

Europe on May 11. It was a larger and cleaner vessel which
carried the passengers. Among these passenger were British,
French, Dutch, Spaniards, Malays ,Siamese, and Filipinos (Mr and
Mrs. Salazar, Mr. Vicente Pardo , and Jose Rizal).
French was mostly spoken on board because it was a french
vessel and the majority of the passengers were French-speaking.

Rizal attempted to converse with his fellow passengers in French,

but to his surprise and embarrassment, he found out that his book
French which he learned at ateneo could not be understood, so
that he had to speak in mixed Spanish-latin supplemented by
much gesticulations and sketching on paper. By conversing daily
with the French passengers, he was able gradually to improve his
knowledge of the French language.
On May 17, the Djemnah reached Point Galle, a seacoast town
in southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Rizal was unimpressed by this
town . on his travel diary, he wrote: the general appearance of
Point Galle is picturesque but lonely and quiet and at the same
time sad.
The following day the Djemnah weighed anchor and resumed the
voyage towards Colombo, the capital of the Ceylon. After a few
hours of sailing, she reached this city on the same day . Rizal
was enamoured by Colombo because of its scenic beauty and
elegant buildings. He delightfully scribbled on his diary: Colombo
is more beautiful , smart and elegant than Singapore, point Galle,
and Manila.
First trip through Suez Canal. From Colombo, the Djemnah

continued the voyage crossing the Indian Ocean to the Cape Of

Guardafui, Africa. For the first time , Rizal sighted the barren
coast of Africa, which he called an inhospitable land but famous.
At the next stopover-- in Aden-- Rizal went ashore to see the
sights. He found the city,hotter than Manila. He was amused to
see the camels, for it was the first time he saw these animals.
From Aden, the Djemnah proceed to the city of Suez, the Red Sea
terminal of the Suez Canal. Upon arrival at Suez, Rizal
disembarked and went sightseeing, like an ordinary tourist. What
impressed him most was the beautiful moonlight which reminded
him of Calamba and his family.

It took the Djemnah five days to traverse the Suez Canal. Rizal
was thrilled because it was built by Ferdinand de Lesseps (French
diplomat engineer).it was in augurated on November 17, 1869. At
Port Said, the Mediterranean terminal of the Suez Canal, Rizal
landed in order to see the interesting sights. He was fascinated to
hear the multi-racial inhabitants speaking a babel of tongues
Arabic , Egyptian, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, etc.
Naples and Marseilles. From Port Said, the Djemnah proceeded on

its way to Europe. On June 11, Rizal reached Naples. This Italian
city pleased him because of its business activity, its lively people,
and its panoramic beauty. He was fascinated by Mount Vesuvius,
the Castle of St. Telmo, and other historic sights of the city.
On the night of June 12, the steamer docked at the French harbor
of Marseilles. Rizal, after bidding farewell to his fellow
passengers, disembarked. He visited the famous Chateau dlf,
where Dantes, hero of the Count of Monte Cristo, was imprisoned.
He had enjoyed reading this novel of Alexander Dumas when he
was a student at the Ateneo. He stayed two and a half days in
Marseilles, enjoying every day of his sojourn.
Barcelona. On the afternoon of May 15, Rizal left Marseilles by

train for the last lap of his trip to Spain. He crossed the Pyrenees
and stopped for a day at the frontier town of Port Bou. Here he
noticed the indifference accorded by the Spanish immigration
officers to tourist, in direct contrast with the courtesy of the
French immigration officers.
After the passport inspection at Port- Bou, Rizal continued his trip
by rail, finally reaching his destination - Barcelona on June
16,1882.
Rizals first impression of Barcelona , the greatest city of the
cataluna and Spains second largest city, was unfavorable . He
thought that it was ugly, with dirty little inns and inhospitable
residents, because he happened to say upon his arrival at a dingy

inn situated on an unimpressive narrow street in the towns

most ugly side and the staff and guests in this inn were
indifferent to him . Later, he changed his bad impression and
came to like the city. He found it to be really a great city, with an
atmosphere of freedom and liberalism, and its people were openhearted, hospitable, and courageous. He enjoyed promanding
along Las Ramblas, the most famous street in Barcelona.
The Filipinos in Barcelona, some of whom were his schoolmates in
Ateneo, welcomed Rizal. They gave him a party at their favorite
cafe in Plaza de Cataluna. After the customary exchange of toasts,
they told their guest of the attractions of Barcelona and the
customs of the Spanish people; in turnd he gave them the latest
news and gossips in the Philippines.
Amor Patrio. In progressive Barcelona, Rizal wrote a nationalistic
essay entitled Amor Patrio (love of country), his first article
written on Spains soil . He sent this article to his friend in Manila,
Basilio Teodora Moran, bilingual newspaper ( Spanish and
Tagalog).
Rizals Amor Patrio, under his pen-name Laong Laan, appeared
in print in Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882. It was published
in two text Spanish and Tagalog. The Spanish text was the one
originally written by Rizal in Barcelona. The Tagalog text was a
Tagalog translation made by M.H. del Pilar. The article caused
quite a sensation among the readers in the Philippines because of
its nationalistic flavor. As in his prize- winning Juventud Filipina.
Rizal in his Amor Patrio urged his compatriots to love their
fatherland, the Philippines. Among other things, he wrote.