Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 91/96 - Gibraltar - Back on the Rock
We slept in this morning until after 8:00 and it was nice. When we pulled the curtains back on our starboard-side suite, we could see the Spanish coast as we sailed into the Strait of Gibraltar.
We headed upstairs to breakfast and caught the Rock of Gibraltar as we sailed in.
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| Europa Point Lighthouse on the southern tip of the Iberian Penninsula |
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| The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque is located at Europa Point and is on the left in this photo |
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| The bumpers at the pier are huge |
Arlona took advantage of some of this downtime to pack her first suitcase with everything she wouldn't need in these last few days of this journey. Then, we left the ship for a walkabout in Gibraltar. It was our first time on the European Continent in quite some time.
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| As we left the port area, we passed some nice flowers |
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| Apparently, there are a lot of inconsiderate smokers here |
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| A good sign that you're in a British-controlled area |
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| I don't know what Indian Tex Mex is, but I'll bet it is interesting |
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| A restored anchor that was used by the Royal Navy for mooring warships in the Gibraltar harbor |
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| Statue of Admiral Sir George Rooke |
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| That's a pretty official-looking public toilet - it's got a seal and everything |
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| The Moorish castle |
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| American War Memorial from WWI |
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| British War Memorial from WWI |
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| Russian Cannons in John Mackintosh Square |
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| Royal Engineers' Monument |
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| Marks & Spencer - a shopping destination for Brits |
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| We ran into much of the entertainment team, Matti, Ronni, Christian, Aurora, Nick, Robert |
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| They really are a great bunch - truly nice people |
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| Looking down Main Street |
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| It must be royal, given the King's insignia to the left |
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| Gibraltar Defence Force Memorial |
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| A reader of this blog recommended Roy's for fish & chips |
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| Start, of course, with a beer |
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| The recommendation was spot-on - it was huge and tasty, albeit a little pricey at $47 for two with a Diet Coke and a beer - quite a jump from prices in previous ports |
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| Another British-ism |
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| I was all excited until I saw the small print |
About three hours later, we arrived back at the ship. It was a nice walk and lunch.
We played Name That Tune this afternoon. There were only two teams, so our odds of winning were 50/50. It was all 70s music and that was in our wheelhouse. We scored 33/40, they scored 28/40. We scored a nifty Seabourn backpack and that was a nice addition to our Seabourn swag.
We went to the Observation Bar for cocktails. We sailed as expected at about 6:00, en route to Spanish Morocco in two days at an average speed of eight knots. Well, that's what we thought.
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| Leaving the rock |
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| A classic view |
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| A better-lighted view of the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque and the Europa Point lighthouse |
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| The mosque |
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| The lighthouse |
It was about here that we heard the medical emergency announcement to send a medical team to suite 1092. Everyone wondered what was happening and hoped for the best.
Shortly after that, a guest collapsed in the Observation Bar. They placed her on the floor and multiple responders from the ship's crew came to her assistance. Shortly after, they cleared the bar, asking guests to relocate to other venues to give the medical team privacy as they worked on the guest.
We relocated to The Club to listen to music.
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| Sailing away from Gibraltar |
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| The lighthouse in the center and the mosque, illuminated in green, to the right |
It was about here that the captain came on and stated that we were returning to Gibraltar for a medical evacuation.
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| You can see the ship's track as we turned to return to Gibraltar |
We remained in port for quite some time. Eventually, we sailed after evacuating one guest. We have no information but it certainly didn't sound too good. We will see what we learn tomorrow. All we can do is hope for the best for the guest and their family.
We went to The Restaurant for a light meal. We both just had a salad for dinner. Our favorite waiter, Kristof, was missing. We learned that he was part of the medical response team and obviously, he had higher priorities to handle.
Tonight, we had a new entertainer,
Hector Ruiz, a magician. We have been underwhelmed by the magic acts Seabourn has brought on the ship. That ended tonight.
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| Hector was engaging, personable, and likable |
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| He put new twists on old tricks and made them new and entertaining |
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| His shadow puppet routine was brilliant |
We both enjoyed the show and look forward to his next performance.
We will be at sea tomorrow, sailing a little faster than planned to make up the time spent evacuating the stricken guest. Our next, and last port comes in two days.
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