Rhonda: We were the first off the ship. US! Our driver Fernando was waiting for us in a Mercedes Benz mini van. Very nice. Fernando immediately tried to talk us into not going to Gibraltar since it's 143 miles away. We convinced him that we have our hearts set on doing it so he said ok and off we went.
Chris: We were pretty nervous about the time so we wanted to get off as soon as possible. We were at the disembarkment station at seven, they didn't let us off until seven thirty, well crap.
Fernando said it would take three hours to get to Gibraltar but in reality in was two hours and forty five minutes. But the time flew by, the drive was absolutely beautiful. We followed the coast and almost all the way you could see the Mediterranean Sea on the left and mountains on the right. Just stunning, for one hundred and fifty miles. We got to Gibraltar at ten fifteen and were across the border from Spain by ten thirty. Another walking border crossing, it feels so adventuresome. And this time we were questioned by the border agent leaving Spain. How cool is that !!
Rhonda: He was very concerned about how we got to Spain and why we were already crossing the border. We just got off the ship into our car and we left. It was still dark. There was no one out to get a stamp on our passports from. Honestly, we didn't think about it because you never get a stamp when you are getting on and off a ship. But then again, we have not tried to leave the country before that we arrived in. We just told him that and we got the "ok, but next time" lecture and he let us pass. But it did worry us that now we have no record of where we came from so will Spain let us cross back? Well shit.
Chris: It has always been a big question with us, why when you fly in to or out of another country it's a big deal with forms and stamps and why are you here and where are you staying, but on the ships it's always just walk off walk on. We don't understand but we'll take it, I love the passport stamp but I don't want to stand in line with three or four thousand people to get it.
We went three hundred miles round trip from a cruise stop to spend two hours at Gibraltar. That was probably a little silly and definitely risky, it wouldn't take much going wrong and we miss the ships departure. But we didn't care, the Rock of Gibraltar is iconic and when will we ever be one hundred and fifty miles from it again? We kind of felt like it was now or never.
One of my favorite things about traveling is seeing an iconic place, the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum in Rome, the Sidney Opera House, for the first time. You've seen it on TV and in movies and pictures in magazines all your life and all of a sudden you turn a corner or the road bends and there it is. We were still ten minutes or so from Gibraltar and I was getting really excited when Fernando looked back at us and pointed out across the water and said there it is, the rock. We both looked out and there it was, still a ways in the distance but it was unmistakably, the Rock of Gibraltar and that moment, that moment alone, was worth the money and the miles and the time and the worry. That's the Rock of Gibraltar.
Rhonda: I was on the phone and Chris pointed at it and I gave a thumbs up. It's a huge rock and it's pretty. Super glad we made the trip and we got to see it. After immigration it was smooth sailing. We got a taxi right there to the cable car and less than 20 minutes later we were on top of the rock. It was an amazing view of the African coast and all of the ships going through the Strait. We saw 3 monkeys at a distance . Kind of disappointing because they are supposed to be all over you when you get there off the cable car. To the point they are a nuisance. I wanted a baby to jump on my shoulder so I could wear him around.
We only had two hours to spend so we did the most we could with the time. We saw the panoramic view , we rode the cable car from 1966 up and down ( but felt much older when we got to the top and he couldn't open the door. He called someone for help and they said... drumroll ........ open the other door. We thought yeah dumbass!) , then we went to find a taxi to go to a particular place we found online for lunch. But , no taxis appeared and time was ticking so we went for lunch at a place we could see. No thought that there also wouldn't be a taxi later. We needed food. So we went to the Piccadeli Bar and cafe. So British. So what should you order but a beer and fish and chips! It was delicious. It was a whole cod deep fried. With fries. They served it with the most buttery green olives and soft hot bread.
During the meal I looked up a phone number for the taxi service and called them . They arraigned a cab to pick us up. Easy Peasy. Taxi straight to the border, 5 steps to get a stamp on the passport with no questions, and poof we were back in Spain. What a whirlwind !!
On the way back I slept ( Chris says I snored but I don't believe him) and he got the window seat view of the ocean. We got to the ship in ample time and no worries. Whew! Again. That was super risky but man was it worth it. We did it.
Tomorrow is Ibiza and now I am glad earlier in the week we cancelled our snorkeling trip. It is calling for rough seas tonight with much more tomorrow. So, we will figure out the day when we get up and out. It's always changing and you never know what adventure we will get into.
Love y'all.
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