Ready ... set ... go!

OCT 20

Another day, bustling from dawn ‘til dusk with activity. Although here in Gibraltar, dawn comes late: the sun doesn’t rise until 8:30 am ... and our days extend well past dusk. We are up to our eyebrows in chores, getting ready for the passage to the Canaries (4 ½ days) and Cape Verde (5-6 days) and ultimately El Gato’s 2-week voyage to St Lucia. It’s fairly overwhelming – however we are ticking off tasks.

But today, as the rain FINALLY stopped and clouds FINALLY cleared, we decided to drop our chores and bolt for Gibraltar, and the cable car ride to the top of The Rock, where the monkeys live.

The bus system failed us, so we walked to the cable car station – with an hour or so to spare before it closed. We took the tram up and were deposited in the rubble and ruins of the old fortress, where the Barbary Macaques live. They are fairly friendly – we were warned they will steal hats, sunglasses, and anything plastic-wrapped (which they associate with food) – but I, having had dodgy monkey experiences in South Africa, kept my distance. Instead, I awed at the mystery of the strait of Gibraltar spread before us. The high, snow-covered (already!) mountains of Spain to the east; the lure of Africa to the south; the stretch of Atlantic to the west ...

 

OCT 21 2pm – leaving within the hour!