Saturday, November 26 – The Rock

We slept in this morning, the second day in a row that we missed breakfast in the MDR.  We heard about it, too, from everyone in the dining room when we went to lunch.  The weather forecast called for rain and temperatures peaking at 58F.  Neither was obvious to us as we ate lunch at the rearmost point of the MDR.  MA could not see as we approached the Rock of Gibraltar and D could only see things after we had passed them.  It was a far cry from the cruise we took when we passed the Rock while eating breakfast in the Lido, the passage accompanied by the opening of Thus Spake Zarathrustra [better known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey]. 

With such an unpleasant prediction, we decided to wait until after lunch to venture forth.  There was the barest hint of rain drops when we left the ship, but soon we had to put up the hoods on our jackets and zip them up to ward off the wind.  About a half-mile from the ship [probably less], we decided that there was nothing in town that we had not seen several times before; we hustled in slow-motion back to the Rotterdam.

When we first visited Gibraltar in 2001, we took a HAL tour which drove us all around and let us visit the famous Barbary Apes “up close and personal.”  Our guide warned us not to have any kind of food for the apes as they were rather excitable and curious.  He had brought snacks enough to occupy the apes while we watched.  Even so, several used MA as a springboard as they jumped from person to person.  When we spoke to people about the apes this week, we warned them not to bring food; to leave jewelry at home; and purses on the bus.  Even so, we heard of at least one incident in which an ape went into a passenger’s backpack, took out an envelope and scattered its contents to the winds.  Some people never learn.

When we returned from our abbreviated walk, we went to the Ocean Bar for sodas, then back to the room for the SCAN.  We stopped in the casino again on the way from dinner; MA increased her winnings and D did not.

The forecast for tomorrow is more of the same – rain.  Temps are supposed to be warmer, in the mid-60s.  We are hopeful since this next port is one of our favorites.

TOMORROW – Cadiz, Spain