Angel R Almagro

Beyond an Adventure Angel R Almagro

Once World War I was over, after devastating battles, including the Battle of Verdun, some French air fighters, almost all heroes of French Republic, were thought to be all dead in a plane crash while performing the first long distance fly of the giant Farman plane, "The Goliath", from Paris to Dakar. They were lost in the Sahara Desert without food and water. How they survived despite their ordeal!While France was recovering from war, they went to Cuba where they remained almost two years, and the place the most important for them was the Columbia airfield in Havana, which became a real aeronautic fair because of the presence of French air fighters and the Farman war planes. For these French nationals, after the battles of the First World War and the testing fly of "The Goliath" to towards Dakar, all these events took place without a single break. Still, their stay in Cuba was like an adventure, which happened under a relaxing and warm atmosphere, plenty of affection and happiness. A Cuban "mulatta", who was charged to prepare meals for the French pilots and mechanics, was the most notable woman in the Columbia airfield. Her name was Genevieve. One of French fellows, Leon, fell in love with her. It was a beautiful but sad love story.