Gibraltar: Rain, repairs, monkeys, fog, more monkeys and new crew

The night after our arrival in Gibraltar the weather turned on us. We were ever so grateful to have made the decision to keep sailing instead of going to Barbate! We were safe and sound at our slip in the marina and made the most of it.

We made pancakes, played tabletop games and attended to some boat repairs such as a leaky window and a clogged head while the kids played in their cabin with stuffed animals and Playmobil. In the early afternoon the heavy rain was reduced to a drizzle and we decided to head out.

Time to do the touristy stuff! We opted for a private bustour, taking us in approximately 2,5 hours to all the big attractions in Gibraltar. We drove on the tarmac of the airport (there’s a first!), visited the border, Europe point, beautiful caves, the Morish Castle and the Great Siege Tunnels. And of course we went to see the famous monkeys! The kids had a blast seeing them up close and letting them eat nuts from their hands. I knew I had a monkey on my shoulder but here I also got one on my head!

It was a real shame it was so foggy that we couldn’t enjoy the views (I would have loved to see Morocco!) but that didn’t spoil the fun. I felt it as such a great achievement that we were here, that we GOT here, by boat!

In the afternoon we had lunch in the marina and met up with Erwin and Marc, our new crew for the coming week. In just a few hours Jan-Paul, the kids and I were to fly back home. Rene, Erwin and Marc would have another week aboard and sail the boat further to Almerimar in Spain.

We had a fun (and quite cosy) evening with 5 adults and 2 kids aboard and with a little pang of jealousy (but with my heart full of amazing new memories!) I packed our bags and went to bed..