Mediterranean Navigation Day 13

Day 13 - Friday, March 14, 2025 – Explore Gibraltar

Breakfast was early this morning because we had to be on the buses at 8:00 for our day trip to Gibraltar. The sun was just peeking through the clouds, the joggers were out for their morning run, and the street sweepers were cleaning the roads for another day in Malaga.

Because of the weather, the port authorities had closed the Port of Gibraltar prohibiting us from sailing to see "The Rock". OAT's alternate plan was to hire four buses to take us back west to visit this iconic port.

Javier, our driver, took the two-hour route that followed the coast. We headed west to the British territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Gibraltar is an area of 2.6 square miles and has a population of just over 38,000 people.

Aziz gave everyone an overview of the Spanish economy. As tourism has become the biggest business in the country, local people have become less than happy with the increased demand for goods and services as well as housing.

Along the Costa del Sol, the beaches and hills were covered with white washed apartments with red tile roofs and many high-rise buildings vying for a glimpse of the sea. We passed by the city of Marabella, one of the most exclusive and expensive communities on the Andalusian coast.

An accident on the roadway caused a delay of almost 25 minutes, but once we cleared the congestion, we were on our way again. The highways were exceptionally smooth, well maintained, and the highway was very well marked making driving in Spain easy.

We arrived in the British territory at 10:20 and got in the line for passport and customs inspections. After going through the border, we got on a 20-passenger mini bus and met our local guide Derick with our driver Andrew.

Derick pointed out the highlights of the territory including the sea wall, the Moorish bastions dating from 711, and the lighthouse. Just across the cloudy Strait of Gibraltar was Morocco.

We went into a large cavern inside the mountain called Saint Michael's Cave and saw an animated light show called The Awakening depicting the geological birth of Gibraltar. Outside we saw a few of the famous Barbary Macaques, but most of them were smart, staying in out of the rain!

Our next Learning and Discovery was a visit to The Edge of War. This museum was just one of the 34 miles of defense tunnels excavated by the British and Canadian forces in World War Two. Still used today, there is a large contingent of British troops in Gibraltar.

After we thanked Derick, we walked to The Clipper restaurant for a lovely British lunch of fish and chips. Aziz gave the group 45 more minutes to explore Gibraltar before we walked back to the bus garage.

Leaving Gibraltar, we had to go through Spanish immigration and have our passports stamped again. Now that Great Britain is no longer part of the European Union, travel restrictions are much stricter.

We left this little territory of Great Britain at 4:50, getting back to our ship at 6:30. The trip leaders postponed the Port Talk until 7:15. We relaxed after sending out the journal. We hope you enjoy our day on The Rock!

Accommodations: M/V Clio

So happy you got to have a nice day! I’m impressed with all the work the staff undertook to make sure you had a nice time despite the weather restrictions.

Very interesting. Thank you.

Is it a canon or a cannon? Why is it defensive rather than offensive? [smile]