Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – Day 132
The Rock of Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory.
Today we sailed from the Mediterranean Sea, through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic Ocean. Our estimated time of arrival at the Strait was 9:30 am. But we’ve learned that these estimates can vary wildly due to so many factors including weather and ship traffic. So, we decided we’d get up on deck 7 at the bow of the ship by 8 am to get a good spot at the rail to view ‘The Rock’.
I borrowed this picture from the internet to show how the Strait looks from space. Spain & the European continent are on the left, Morocco & the African continent are on the right. The Mediterranean Sea is the larger body of water, the Strait of Gibraltar is the skinny canal, and the Atlantic Ocean is at the bottom left-hand corner of the frame. The Strait is only 8.1 miles wide at its narrowest point. Sailing through the Strait it is possible to see both continents. Ferries go back and forth between Europe and Africa in as little as 35 minutes multiple times per day.
So far on this epic journey we have sailed through the Panama Canal that effectively separates the American continents, the Suez Canal that separates the African and Asian continents, partially transacted the Bosporus Strait that separates the Asian and European continents, and now the Strait of Gibraltar, a natural separation of Europe and Africa. In a very nerdy way, it was an exciting day!
But………….. there was one little problem… FOG! That picture at the beginning of this blog is off the internet, what we saw is a little different!
As we approached the Rock, we could see other ships waiting to go through the narrow point of the Strait. If we used our imagination, we could barely make out what we thought could be the shape of the Rock through the haze.
As we went around the corner, we could see the base of the peninsula where the Rock sits. The Rock itself was hiding in the mist.
After passing through the Strait and into the Atlantic Ocean, looking back across the base of the peninsula we could just see the faint outline of Gibraltar emerging from the fog. Alas, it was too late for us to get a clear view.
Well, it was still fun to stand out on the cold, foggy deck with other lunatics, squinting through the mist asking each other, is that it?! Our onboard naturalist kept telling us exactly where to look and what we would see, if only the fog would lift. No matter, we have sailed through and learned that the fog is more typical of an average day on the Strait of Gibraltar.
Now in the Atlantic we are experiencing the movement of the ocean once again. We’ve had very smooth sailing in the Mediterranean and hadn’t needed our sea legs. Time to pay attention when moving about again!
It is hard to believe we will be home in 7 days! We left home 135 days ago. It seems odd to say, but the time has absolutely flown by for us. It seemed a daunting effort at the beginning, but now we cannot believe it is coming to an end.
One thing we know for sure, we’ve missed being a part of your lives for this time. You all know what we’ve been doing, so now we look forward to having you share with us what has been going on in your lives.