THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR
Today, we arrived at our final port-of-call, Gibraltar.
With an all-aboard time of 4.30pm, we decided the best way to use the day would be to walk up to the top of the rock on foot.
The first part of the walk is from the cruise terminal to the town; easy peasy lemon squeazy. It was hot, though, with very little wind to speak of, and it was only going to get warmer…
The second part of the walk is to climb up from the town to the point next to the Moorish Castle, where permits are required to be purchased to access the Upper Rock area. The climb is through narrow streets and up several flights of steps, a part of the walk that, despite having done it before, always surprises me how hard it is. By the time we reached the ticket office, I think we were both beginning to question the sanity of our decision.
The castle was closed, so we bought our tickets and pressed on. £30 each enables access to the whole of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, and entrance to all its attractions; the first of which we availed ourselves of – The World War Two tunnels. There are 45km of tunnels dug into the rock, which provided storage, barracks and strategic defence posts during the war. We purchased crisps, Bounties and fizzy drinks from the gift shop in there, and then continued on our way. We might have made good height, but there was much further to go.
Slowly but surely we made our way up the snaking roadways, which are closed off to traffic, pausing often to enjoy expansive views and to grab a breather. We’ve done this walk a couple of times before, but this has to have been the hottest of them… surprisingly, even at great height, there was still no wind.
Finally, we arrived at the cable car station. We didn’t go into the complex because we were eager to press on, but this would be the highest point on our adventure today. From here, we stopped off at the Skywalk platform, and made our way towards St. Michael’s Cave, pausing to photograph the apes along the way, who posed and pouted for visitors like veterans.
St Michael’s Cave was fun to walk through, as always. An impressive sound and light show brings the cave to life, and the stalagtites and stalagmites on display are simply stunning. On our exit, we bought ice creams and more fizzy drink from the gift shop, and found a seat outside, away from the apes (who will swoop upon any unwary visitors and relieve them of their belongings at a moments notice). From here, it was all downhill, back towards the steep steps of the Charles V Wall, past a couple of the WW2 batteries, weedling our way, eventually, back down to sea level, the town, and back to the port.
It was a long, hot, challenging walk – a round trip of roughly 8 miles – but I’m pleased we did it. The views from the top make the effort more than worth it (although we may opt for an easier ascent when we return nexr year), and are the location’s greatest asset.
We now have three sea days as we head back across the Bay of Biscay, towards Portsmouth, and home…
