We feel we have walked the length of Gibraltar, having made it to Europa Point, the most southerly tip of “The Rock”.

Our stay in Marina Bay (now part of Ocean Village) turned out to be longer than we had expected because again the engine refused to start. Kevin, the local Yanmar dealer, methodically went through all possible causes, and finally found the source of the problem.   Let’s hope he has cured the issue once and for all!  

This is a view about half-way down the 338 Castle steps …. and they only get you as far as the Moorish Castle,still quite a bit of “Rock” to go to the top. There were several residences on the way up that didn’t appear to have any other way to deliver goods …occupants must surely be fit!
A few of the vessels made out of cardboard that partook in the annual boat race ….. many did not make it very far!
A few more cardboard vessels that were in the junior boat race
Not sure what the event was but we happened upon these folks re-enacting drills in Casemates Square in WWII style

In fact, we didn’t mind being delayed in Gibraltar as we found it to have very easy access to pretty much everything we needed, language wasn’t an issue, there were plenty of other friendly live-aboards who were more than happy to help, we enjoyed stocking up on a few British items that we haven’t tasted in years, and it is a place steeped in history dating back to the Neanderthals (the museum is definitely worth the £5 entry fee, if only to see the life-like models of a Neanderthal boy and his grandma created using skeletons found in one of the caves).  We also managed to knock several items off our ‘To Do’ list and take advantage of no tax on purchases (more boat stuff).  The only item we were not able to resolve was our propane cooking fuel.  We were, however, given the contact information for Dirk in Marbella, who has indeed helped us out, not only by filling our tanks, but also providing a system for connecting camping gaz tanks, which are available throughout Europe, to our system – yea!

A little taste of one of the many squares in old town, Marbella.

So, we are on our way again.  The easterly winds had been fairly strong over the weekend so we decided to wait until yesterday when, although still easterly and not the best for heading northeast, were considerably lighter.  We motor-sailed with mainsail only all the way and made it to Marbella around 6pm, after the marina folks had returned from their siesta.  Actually, we were pleasantly surprised that Marbella is more than just beach and high rise buildings to accommodate tourists; the old town is quite charming.