Very disappointed with our sail-in to Gibralter this morning as once again, it was well before sunrise. Nerver having been here, we were looking forward to a panoramic view of 'The Rock', but it just wasn't meant to be. Once in the harbor, we eventually docked right next to a Royal Caribbean ship, and the 'Rock' was on the opposite side...so we had no view from our cabin at all.
We had breakfast once again in the Lido, poolside aft, and it was there we finally got a peek at the world famous landmark, but with the sun rising, any attempt at decent photos would've been futile. Since our tour wasn't scheduled to begin until 1pm, we disembarked around 8:30 and walked to city center, about 1.5 miles away. With two ships in port and as you can imagine, the sidewalks and numerous cafes were elbow-to-elbow. We were able to take a few photos this morning but with the tall buildings and narrow, dark alleys (streets) the quality isn't too good. Most streets are cobblestone and bustling with pedestrian activity - small vehicles weaving in-and-out...it's amazing no one is hit. With all the walking we did yesterday, my lower back was starting to hurt so we stopped in a small pharmacy (labeled farmacia in this part of the world) to get some Ibuprofen. What a wonderful experience! The pharmisist (Luis) and his wife (Debbie) were the proprietors and you'd think we'd known them for years. We actually spent an hour with them. They'd honeymooned in Arizona twenty years ago so we exchanged many stories not only about Arizona but the U.S in general. Of course one of the big topics with them, and really all the Europeans we've met so far..."WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR??" Wow...what a sensitive subject! We've since learned to respond by saying..."WE'RE NOT VOTING THIS ELECTION". Talk about hostility and disbelief...but can you blame them?
At any rate, Luis & Debbie were most accomodating and again, spent a little more than hour with them just talking. Yes, the pharmicia was busy, but in between customers, we resumed our conversations. Thoroughly enjoyable! Eventually, I got my medication and we were on our way...after exchanging email addresses! We had to get back to the ship at that point to catch our 1pm tour. Not necessary - we were an hour late leaving the port as with two ships in and a combined 6,000 passengers, there was a vehicle shortage to handle everyone who wanted to go to the top of the rock.
Once underway, we first stopped at the Gibralter Museum and viewed some excavated ruins - very interesting, but rather warm, humid, with a strong scent of mold & mildew. Around 3:00, we jumped on our cable car for a ride to the top of The Rock. While a beautiful view enroute, the 6 minute jaunt was physically miserable as we literally packed 26 people into a cable car that should've carried no more than 18. It was the classic...how many clowns can you pack into a Volkswagon?! Once we reached our destination, we were greeted by at least two dozen monkeys - local residents who are fed each day by the local recreation department. We were warned before arriving that while they were somewhat friendly, we still needed to regard them as unpredictable, wild animals. One of our more curious tour participants (there's always one) took a nasty bite in the arm and had to be taken back to the ship immediately for medical attention. I, on the other hand, had one jump on my back trying to remove my hat. He almost succeeded...but I was just slightly quicker.
The panoramic views from The Rock are absolutely stunning - we have dozens of photos here from several angles, and could've included more. We were equally interested in the monkeys and have several of those as well. Maybe we were too interested - we got sidetracked playing with the little guys and lost sight of our tour group. We thought they started walking down to a viewing area which was to be our next stop...so we started hiking down ourselves. Several minutes later and about 25% of the way down from the top, we realized we were on the wrong path, so we trugded all the way back up to the top where we found our tour group waiting for us. First time we've ever done that...both very embarrassed and apologized to everyone profusely! By then, we were both soaked with sweat and very tired.
We had no idea that The Rock has 252 tunnels that were used in multiple battles over the centuries. We actually decended down one of the tunnels with our group along with an excellent guide. There's so much history associated with The Rock that I haven't the time (or memory) to go into detail here - but would recommend researching if you plan a trip here yourself. It's facinating! I will share with you that, according to our guide, the population here is only 30,000, unemployment is at an amazing 1%, and college education along with health care is funded by the government through moderate taxation. We were told that if anyone should need advanced treatment not offered locally, the government will pay for a trip to Spain and will also pay for the required medical procedures. Hmmmm....is there yet another learning here for the U.S.? What I recall from our tour today and CAN share with your briefly, is that during the campaign leading up to the United Kingdom's national referendum on whether to leave the European Union (known as 'Brexit') the Spanish government warned that if the UK chose to leave, Spain would push to reclaim control over Gibraltar 'the very next day'. The Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo warned the UK that if Brexit went ahead Spain could "pounce on us" also stating that "it is safer and more secure for Gibraltar to remain in the EU". On June 23 of this year (2016) Gibraltar voted with the rest of the United Kingdom on whether the UK should remain in, or leave the European Union. Although the final decision saw the UK decide to leave, Gibraltar overwhelmingly voted to remain in the Union. There was a strong voter turnout of 82% resulting in about 19,000 votes to remain and only 900 to leave. The very day after the result of the Brexit vote, Spain's acting Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo, as promised, renewed calls for joint Spanish/British control of the peninsula. He labeled the British people's decision to leave the EU as "a complete change of outlook that opens up new possibilities on Gibraltar not seen for a very long time" speculating "the Spanish flag on the Rock is much closer than before". So that's all for now.
We didn't return to the ship until 7pm and obviously missed dinner. We ordered cheeseburgers from room service, showered, and joined a sailaway party, poolside aft, consisting of wines of the world and a cheese buffet. Very nice! So now I sit here close to midnight trying to wrap up this blog installment and prepare for our early morning arrival in Malaga, Spain, just a few hours from now.
Gibralter. Beautiful city - clean - friendly residents - extraordinary sights. Definitely a bucket list destination for everyone. What a spectacular day!
We had breakfast once again in the Lido, poolside aft, and it was there we finally got a peek at the world famous landmark, but with the sun rising, any attempt at decent photos would've been futile. Since our tour wasn't scheduled to begin until 1pm, we disembarked around 8:30 and walked to city center, about 1.5 miles away. With two ships in port and as you can imagine, the sidewalks and numerous cafes were elbow-to-elbow. We were able to take a few photos this morning but with the tall buildings and narrow, dark alleys (streets) the quality isn't too good. Most streets are cobblestone and bustling with pedestrian activity - small vehicles weaving in-and-out...it's amazing no one is hit. With all the walking we did yesterday, my lower back was starting to hurt so we stopped in a small pharmacy (labeled farmacia in this part of the world) to get some Ibuprofen. What a wonderful experience! The pharmisist (Luis) and his wife (Debbie) were the proprietors and you'd think we'd known them for years. We actually spent an hour with them. They'd honeymooned in Arizona twenty years ago so we exchanged many stories not only about Arizona but the U.S in general. Of course one of the big topics with them, and really all the Europeans we've met so far..."WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR??" Wow...what a sensitive subject! We've since learned to respond by saying..."WE'RE NOT VOTING THIS ELECTION". Talk about hostility and disbelief...but can you blame them?
At any rate, Luis & Debbie were most accomodating and again, spent a little more than hour with them just talking. Yes, the pharmicia was busy, but in between customers, we resumed our conversations. Thoroughly enjoyable! Eventually, I got my medication and we were on our way...after exchanging email addresses! We had to get back to the ship at that point to catch our 1pm tour. Not necessary - we were an hour late leaving the port as with two ships in and a combined 6,000 passengers, there was a vehicle shortage to handle everyone who wanted to go to the top of the rock. Once underway, we first stopped at the Gibralter Museum and viewed some excavated ruins - very interesting, but rather warm, humid, with a strong scent of mold & mildew. Around 3:00, we jumped on our cable car for a ride to the top of The Rock. While a beautiful view enroute, the 6 minute jaunt was physically miserable as we literally packed 26 people into a cable car that should've carried no more than 18. It was the classic...how many clowns can you pack into a Volkswagon?! Once we reached our destination, we were greeted by at least two dozen monkeys - local residents who are fed each day by the local recreation department. We were warned before arriving that while they were somewhat friendly, we still needed to regard them as unpredictable, wild animals. One of our more curious tour participants (there's always one) took a nasty bite in the arm and had to be taken back to the ship immediately for medical attention. I, on the other hand, had one jump on my back trying to remove my hat. He almost succeeded...but I was just slightly quicker.
The panoramic views from The Rock are absolutely stunning - we have dozens of photos here from several angles, and could've included more. We were equally interested in the monkeys and have several of those as well. Maybe we were too interested - we got sidetracked playing with the little guys and lost sight of our tour group. We thought they started walking down to a viewing area which was to be our next stop...so we started hiking down ourselves. Several minutes later and about 25% of the way down from the top, we realized we were on the wrong path, so we trugded all the way back up to the top where we found our tour group waiting for us. First time we've ever done that...both very embarrassed and apologized to everyone profusely! By then, we were both soaked with sweat and very tired.
We had no idea that The Rock has 252 tunnels that were used in multiple battles over the centuries. We actually decended down one of the tunnels with our group along with an excellent guide. There's so much history associated with The Rock that I haven't the time (or memory) to go into detail here - but would recommend researching if you plan a trip here yourself. It's facinating! I will share with you that, according to our guide, the population here is only 30,000, unemployment is at an amazing 1%, and college education along with health care is funded by the government through moderate taxation. We were told that if anyone should need advanced treatment not offered locally, the government will pay for a trip to Spain and will also pay for the required medical procedures. Hmmmm....is there yet another learning here for the U.S.? What I recall from our tour today and CAN share with your briefly, is that during the campaign leading up to the United Kingdom's national referendum on whether to leave the European Union (known as 'Brexit') the Spanish government warned that if the UK chose to leave, Spain would push to reclaim control over Gibraltar 'the very next day'. The Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo warned the UK that if Brexit went ahead Spain could "pounce on us" also stating that "it is safer and more secure for Gibraltar to remain in the EU". On June 23 of this year (2016) Gibraltar voted with the rest of the United Kingdom on whether the UK should remain in, or leave the European Union. Although the final decision saw the UK decide to leave, Gibraltar overwhelmingly voted to remain in the Union. There was a strong voter turnout of 82% resulting in about 19,000 votes to remain and only 900 to leave. The very day after the result of the Brexit vote, Spain's acting Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo, as promised, renewed calls for joint Spanish/British control of the peninsula. He labeled the British people's decision to leave the EU as "a complete change of outlook that opens up new possibilities on Gibraltar not seen for a very long time" speculating "the Spanish flag on the Rock is much closer than before". So that's all for now.
We didn't return to the ship until 7pm and obviously missed dinner. We ordered cheeseburgers from room service, showered, and joined a sailaway party, poolside aft, consisting of wines of the world and a cheese buffet. Very nice! So now I sit here close to midnight trying to wrap up this blog installment and prepare for our early morning arrival in Malaga, Spain, just a few hours from now.
Gibralter. Beautiful city - clean - friendly residents - extraordinary sights. Definitely a bucket list destination for everyone. What a spectacular day!
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