Gibraltar

Our second port of call was Gibraltar, a bit of Britain. It's quite a small place in area every inch is built on, the port has been expanded out to sea. A few of our fellow passengers had visited many times and all said how it has changed and is so much bigger.

It was super to arrive early morning with a view of the Rock from our balcony. Docked next to us was Spirit of Discovery, a Saga cruise ship. 

Although a visit up to the Rock or through the underground tunnels are popular excursions we decided to explore the town. 

Gibraltar is attached to mainland Spain and is a strategic location in controlling access to the Mediterranean Sea. It is the closest point to Africa and has been occupied by the Moors, Spanish and British.

In the mid 18th century the British built the Line Curtain Wall to protect the town. They also built the Grand Casement, a barracks using the location of the Moor's Watergate giving access to the sea.

The Grand Casement is now a bustling area full of bars with outdoor seating, a great atmosphere. The walls are two storey with a variety of shops above including Gibraltar Distillery.

Their range includes Spanking Roger gin, named after Major General Roger Aytoun of the 72nd Regiment of Foot Royal Manchester Volunteers whose very successful recruitment methods in the Great Siege of 1779 including challenging men to out drink him or sign up.

Trafalgar 1805, a dark rum, is named after the success of Admiral Horatio Nelson who fought Napoleon in the Battle of Trafalgar. 

Gibraltar was an important trading post but ships relied on the wind being in the right direction to navigate the Straits. Sailors to unload contraband at Blackstrap Cove, the name given to Gibraltar Distillery's whisky matured in sherry casks.

The duty on wine, spirits and tobacco is very low in Gibraltar making even these bespoke spirits considerably cheaper than in the UK. It was very tempting but the downside of holidays is luggage weight, glass is quite heavy, there's certainly a sales opportunity for alternative lighter packaging. It was disappointing that the distillery did not sell miniatures as that would have been ideal to bring home.

After exploring the Grand Casement we wandered along Gibraltar's main shopping street, full of UK shops and so many wine and spirit stores. It was surprising to see clothes, shoes and accessories on par with home prices in comparison to the much lower drinks prices.

It was like being at home wandering along the shopping street. The GR red post box even had a knitted topper, a popular craft activity in the UK.

At the far end of the street is the Southport Gate with many emblems. It stands next to Trafalgar Cemetery where some of the casualties from the battle are buried. Although closed some of the graves could be seen.

Our return walk took us past Morrisons, it was very surreal to be abroad yet at home. We popped in for a couple of items we'd forgotten to pack and took the opportunity to have a coffee with a fresh cream scone.

Returning to the ship we enjoyed time on our balcony with a drink from the upstairs bar. A little bit of our own space with a fantastic view of the rock.

We sailed away as the sun set, the colours on the Rock, the buildings and the sea were amazing. The sunset was beautiful, added to by a surprise proposal on the deck above us, the perfect end to our day in Gibraltar.

The sunset was at 21.03 with our time 1 hour ahead of UK time, here's a track of how it changed, I'll add to it each blog. 

Maderia    20.42    UK time

Gibraltar   21.03     UK time plus 1 hour