Ashore In Gibraltar

   After 8 days at sea we finally landed in Gibraltar.  On past

Pat, Rick Judy

Throught The Gate

crossings we have always stopped in the Azores (or Canary) Islands but this time we sailed right by.  In any case we were ready for shore by 9:30.   Having been to Gibraltar twice before we had already done all the "must dos" like see the Monkeys, the caves, the view from the top as well as the Great Seige Tunnels and the 100 ton gun.  This time we just decided to wander with Pat and Rick.  We did not have any real destination.  After passing throught the main gate and wall, we just walked down the main street trying to find interesting things to photograph.  We stopped at  the "Trafalgar Cemetary on our way to the lift to the top.  When we got there the line ups were too long so we decided to go to Europa Point - the site of the Gibraltar lighthouse.  We were going to walk but decided it was too far so we hopped on a local bus.  It was a good decision because it was quite far and the  road was hilly and narrow.

Lighthouse for the Straits

   The area of the lighthouse (and mosque) are quite well kept and you get nice views of Africa although there was a yellow hew in the air.  I suspect the wind was blowing from the Sahara out to sea.  We spent a bit of time there just enjoying the sunny weather and the time ashore.  There were plenty of picture opportunities there as well.
     We were going to walk back but opted for the bus again, getting off about where we started earlier in the day.  From there we just wandered along some of the back streets and then decided to walk up the rock to the old Moorish Castle.  We were on the main stairway up but it was still quite a climb.  After a short visit we made our way down to the main street where we both decided to go our own way. 

Judy and I opted for the Catherine of Aragon pub, a place that

Moor Castle

Europa Point

we had stopped at in the past.  It is in an alleyway off the main street.  We could sit and have a beer and watch the people wandering down the main street as well as the side street.   Afterwards it was the 2 mile walk back to the ship.
      They had a sailaway party at night so we did go up and joined the fun.  There was some line dancing type dances for about 20 minutes, then the cruise staff left.  However the band kept playing so we stuck around.  Patti knows a lot of dances

Gibraltar At Sunset

so we spent the next while dancing.  A few other people tried to join us but most just watched and drank!   It was a good time.
        Dinner was good as always with a healthy discussion about the day's activities.  A production show was the last thing for the night.  We were pretty tired after all the wandering!  Next post will be for Alacante!