This morning we arrived in Gibraltar, United Kingdom. This is our first visit to this port of call. The rock of Gibraltar is very well known from the pictures that have been taken over the years. The rock soars almost 1,400 feet. Over 140 caves have been discovered. Gibraltar is connected to Spain by land but is part of the United Kingdom. Most of the residents of Gibraltar are from Spain and Spanish is widely spoken here.
Believe it or not, almost 4 million tourists visit Gibraltar each year. This area is well known for its pubs, ale, fish and chips and even for its shopping and of course for its unique shape.
We awoke early this morning and enjoyed a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. Keith arrived early and was the first passenger working out. Anne Marie, Mary and John also worked out while Keith was there. A few other passengers were also working out given our early arrival to this port of call. Our daughter and son-in-law arrived to the Center for their workout about twenty minutes before we left.
After our workout we stopped by the Lido Café for coffee and then enjoyed breakfast in our room.
The ship arrived in Gibraltar at around 7:30 AM, thirty minutes ahead of schedule. It was cloudy so we could not see the top of the rock. We docked at the North Mole Pier. It is about a fifteen to twenty minute walk to the center of town. Local transportation unions prohibit cruise lines from providing shuttle service between the pier and the town. Gibraltar has their own currency which is the Gibraltar Pound, but the exchange rate is very close to that of the British Pound.
Another cruise ship arrived about twenty minutes after we docked. It is called the Arcadia and is part of P&O cruise lines. We are not familiar with this ship and suspect it carries mostly European passengers.
Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “The world is a beautiful book for those who read it.”
We had originally considered taking the tour of the Barbary Macaques. However, this area is inhabited by hundreds of apes who are on and around the Rock so we decided to pass on the apes. ☺ Instead, we enjoyed a delightful walk into town, which is located within one mile from the ship.
The town was much better than we thought it would be. It had a couple of main streets and many side streets. Along the side streets there were stores, cafes, restaurants, markets, hair salons and other type of shops and above them were residences. The streets were very European. We found one area that had two kosher stores and then there was a Travel Agency that appeared to be run by a Jewish owner. The Synagogue was closed. We also walked to a very nice park that was located on a hill that one could take to go up to the Rock. The town was very crowded between passengers from the two ships, locals and tourists from other nearby areas such as Spain. While part of the United Kingdom, the steering wheels were located on the left side of the vehicle. The weather was very nice although it was cloudy so one could not see the rock in its entirety. The town had a feel similar to Cornwall which we visited last year, but we enjoyed this town even more.
We also went in a fish, meat, fruit and vegetable market where the locals shop. It had several stands selling these items along with one stand selling cheese and various breads. We ended up walking a little over five miles.
The ship departed Gibraltar at 1:00 PM. A sail away event was held for all guests from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM called the Mocktoberfest which was a Bavarian bash. Complimentary steins of beer and Bavarian-inspired delights were provided. There was also dancing and music and it was a delightful event.
Before dinner, we had our daughter and son-in-law over to our room for some Hors D’oeuvres. We will dine later this evening in the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant with Mary and Stan and had a wonderful dinner.
This evening we will attend a portion of the crew party that we are one of the hosts for. We will post about this tomorrow.
Keith & Anne Marie
