Leaving Nerja we sailed to Marbella port and stayed there for two nights hoping to get some spare parts for the watermaker and a new triducer. Unfortunately without any luck. The port was expensive and the town nothing special. There were a lot of bars near the port, and a party boat close to us sailed every 40 minutes making a huge noise. We did some shopping and headed to La Linea de Conception, which is a spanish port just north of Gibraltar.
On the 12th and 13th of October we went to see Gibraltar. Shortly after passport control, you had to cross the runway at Gibraltar airport. There was actually a pedestrian crossing over the runway.
After a stop at a chandler, which has almost become a regular routine when in port, we took a walk in the city. There were many charming shopping streets.
We visited the National Museum of Gibraltar, which is housed in a former Muslim bathhouse. The museum had wax figures of Neanderthals made after skulls found on the Rock of Gibraltar, which are among the oldest Neanderthals found. On the way home we walked through the old town with quirky narrow streets at different levels paved with stairs.
The next day we went to the nature reserve on the Rock of Gibraltar and started at “The Moorish Castle”, which is a former Muslim defence castle. Then we saw World War II tunnels dug by soldiers who lived in the tunnels and dug non-stop from 1941-1943. In some of the rooms there were wax figures showing how the soldiers lived in bunk beds in the damp and cold of the tunnels.
Next stop was St. Michael’s Cave, which is a stalactite cave with formations that look like an angel. For some reason Gibraltar has given the cave hideous colors to highlight the angel formation.
On the way up there and in the nature reserve in general, there were many Macaque apes that we were absolutely captivated by.
On the way down from the Rock, Martin had his fear of heights challenged on a suspension bridge over the mountain.
With dinner at a good local restaurant we had a great end to a rather successful visit to Gibraltar.
