Day Ten

Gibraltar to Sevilla

When I awake in the morning, two British cruise ships are parked to our starboard side and although it is only eight, minibusses take off every other minute or so to shuttle into town. After breakfast I too set out to discover Gibraltar. Since I am well below cruise ship age, I walk.

The territory basically consists of a big rock thoughtfully named Rock of Gibraltar to which clings an English town of sorts. It is still early enough for crimson school uniforms and dark business suites to dominate main street with a certain hectic. Later, they will be replaced by pensioners from the two cruise ships and the flottila of coaches parked in the bus terminal half way between the centre and the harbour.

From the sea Gibraltar seems to consist mostly of high-rise apartment blocks. Part of the harbour has been or currently is being re-developed into residential areas. The area around Main Street retains the character of the old Gibraltar, though. Despite a strong influence of Spanish architecture (after all, the English hardly know anything about sommerly heat) it is decidedly British. It even features the ugly concrete palace that is Marks & Spencer which seems to be mandatory for every British settlement.

The most famous place in Gibraltar, though, is Europa Point at the far end of the peninsula. I figure that the two hours before I have to be back on board are enough for walking there and back. They might be, but I pick the wrong road and end up on a beach area below a cliff which also is a dead end. But then again, I got to see the Police Headquarter. Is it me or is it funny that it is residing in New Mole House?

Apart from Europa Point, there is the more walking to be done. The top of the rock, 426 m above the sea, needs to be climbed and the east side of the rock I haven't seen yet either. So, Gibraltar definitely lands itself on the List of Places To See Again. With its strange mixture of Spanish and English and possibly the only British place that actually drives on the right side of the road, it may even be a place to consider for living.

At 1230 we cut the lines again, maneouver out of the harbour and through the maze again. We set a western course now, through the Strait again and then towards Sevilla. To get there, you have to sail up the Guadalquivir river for about fifty miles. This all takes the rest of the day and the best part of the night. At four in the morning we finally arrive at the Sevilla container port.