Travelogue Chapter 6 Gibraltar and Spain

Travelogue 6
Written in Cadiz Spain

We arrived in Cadiz Spain on a dark morning of January 28th. As I do as often as
possible I was out on the deck as the ship approached the pier. I always try to be on deck when the ship arrives in a port. Despite having done this so many times in my early Navy days and now later on many cruises, the sense of accomplishment of seeing land and then tying up after a voyage is wonderful. After being at sea for almost 9 days the sight of land, buildings, lights and other humans is always impressive. It is probably like returning from space. One lives in an environment where there is nothing but sea as far as the eye can see in all directions and one wonders whether this is normal or is land the normal situation of life. One sees no life, no ships and one starts to think that being on the water is actually the normal place to be given the huge expanses of water of this globe. Being on land is rather the exception but it is still nice to see that land does exist and that life is not only being on the ocean.

By 8.30 am the ship was cleared and we could collect our passports from the purser. On most ships, the passports are held by the purser’s office in order for the local authorities to do the immigration thing. As were going to be off ship for a few nights, we needed our passports. Then came leaving the ship. On most ships one is given a swipe card which is scanned when one leaves the ship and scanned again when one returns. This controls whether all passengers are on board. On this morning, the scanning system broke down and 700 people tried to disembark at the same time. The security people were reduced to handwriting each name and number and the line snaked half around the ship. Brigitte went straight to the security officer and stated that we had a plane to catch and we were whisked to the front of the line. I do not want to know how long others had to wait.

In fact, we had no plane to catch but a rental car to pick up. On this trip we had decided that we will travel with knapsacks when going ashore rather than roll-on trunks as we have in the past. We got ours from LL Bean and I got one that has wheels and a handle but which can be worn on the back. We managed to get all our things for a 3 day trip into my bag and we were good to go.

I had reserved a car from National rental on the internet while still in America. The rates on the internet can be 50% less than quoted in Europe. Our rate for 3 days worked out to be $160 plus gasoline for unlimited kilometers and a medium sized car. So we jumped into a taxi which took us way out of the city to the rental place. Cadiz is in fact a long thin spit of land so there is no room for large parking areas. We arrived at the Atesa offices and sure enough they had the car ready for us. After they filled out endless papers, we were given the keys and told the car was parked out in the street around the corner. My first attempt was not successful and I had to go back and get help to find the car which meant the lady from the office came out and trudged around until she did find the car. I then went into an office of Vodaphone and bought a Sim card for my open phone. In the rest of the world, one can purchase sim cards which are little chips that go into the phone allowing one to have a local mobile phone. This cannot be done in North America as the phone companies do not want people to have this flexibility. I have 3 such phones and I get a chip in each country just to have the security of a phone while puddling around the country side.

We then got into the car on a beautiful sunny morning and headed towards
Gibraltar which Emmett absolutely wanted to see. The Spanish roads are excellent and are very nicely laid out. The drive to Gibraltar took about 2 hours and we arrived at the boarder control at around noon. Passing through Spanish and UK immigration took all of 10 minutes and we were on the peninsula which is Gibraltar. We headed for the cable car which takes one up from sea level to the top of the rock. I had forgotten how big the rock is in fact. It is about 1 km long at the top. The view from the top on this clear morning was spectacular with a clear view of Spain, the mouth of the entrance of the Gibraltar straight and the mountains of Africa in Morocco all in one panoramic sweep. Of course, Emmett was most fascinated by the Macaque monkeys which run free at the top of the mountain as he had never been that close to one of these sweet looking robbers. They sit everywhere and wait until some tourist comes by with food which is then snatched and they are off. One can almost hear them chuckling…

You can see some pictures of Gibraltar at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/akeyserlingk/Gibraltar?authkey=IB-pudwRFeM

We spent over an hour walking around the summit taking in the wonderful views in all directions which this altitude provides. One can understand that the Spaniards would want dearly to have the rock back but there have been several referenda organized by the brits to establish whether the locals want to be Spanish and the results have been a resounding “NO”. So Gibraltar remains UK territory. But at least they do not drive on the wrong side of the road. Most people speak Spanish and the Euro is quoted everywhere. But there are British military as well as bobby policemen and British street markings so one has the sense of being in Britain,

So we jumped on the lift and headed down. On the way down we learnt that the lift will be closed in March so all the cables and equipment can be changed after 7 years of use. It was a little disconcerting to be riding a system which was nearing the end of its useful and safe life. But I am pleased t report that we made it to the bottom safely. But not before we received a lecture from the cable car driver on how the monkey’s numbers are controlled either by sending the excess numbers to zoos or by culling which he found repugnant. “They even look like us”. Well, that statement held true for him but not for most people…

So we jumped back into our nice new Citroen and headed north towards Granada. I had not made any hotel arrangements as I was not sure how far we would get in that first day. We headed along the Costa del Sol passing through huge numbers of housing developments the Spaniards had built and sold to German and British tourists over the years. I had not seen these places and frankly I was astounded at the vast numbers of theses building all along the coast. Not the kind of place I would want to spend a vacation but apparently these had been hugely successful for years and sold like hotcakes in their time. Nowadays, there are vast projects sitting half completed awaiting customers, even more so now that the recession has officially arrived in Spain. Just yesterday it was announced at the same time as one of the biggest building companies declared bankruptcy leaving banks holding about US$ 5 billion in unpaid debt. One wonders what archeologists will have to say about our society when they discover these honey combed hills with thousands of flats stuck together on the hillsides. They will probably think that our society was a very friendly one as these people all chose to live within spitting distance from each other…

The drive then turned off and we headed northeast into the Sierra Nevada Mountains towards Granada. We hit fog patches as we climbed up to over 3000 feet and then the air cleared as we approached Granada which we reached at around 4pm. I had no idea where we would spend the night but took some streets which were for pedestrians only and ended up facing what looked like a nice place near the cathedral of Granada, in the old part of the city. After negotiating with the front desk for a room for 3 at Euro 70 a night we unloaded our gear and took possession of our fairly large room on the main pedestrian street of this lovely part of Granada. I parked the car in a parking building a few blocks away as I did not want to have to drive the narrow streets of this city.

The first thing I needed to do was spend an hour on the phone with the Bank Credit Union which had blocked my visa card when I went to use it for the first time in
Spain. This took a good hour and a lot of bad thoughts on my part. Before leaving home I had sent the Credit Union a note which they acknowledged receiving in which I informed them of our travel plans naming the cities we would visit. In the first city, they blocked my card which is my main source of cash when traveling. I also carry another card just in case. After an hour with someone in Washington who excused himself for the blocking as he could see my travel notification. One wonders where they draw the line on security and start to be incompetent. I have since received many excuses from the management of the credit union but it is irritating.

That evening we walked along the busing pedestrian streets, through the many plazas of the area and found a small restaurant for an early Spanish dinner at 8.30 pm… We decided to stay 2 nights in Granada given our nice hotel and the fact that the next day we would be visiting the Alhambra. I had booked tickets on the website (http://www.alhambratickets.com/) which is needed as they control the crowds by issuing tickets which only allow one in at the assigned times. The next morning after a leisurely breakfast and some more walking we jumped one of the double decker tour busses one finds in most European cities. These allow one to jump on and off at different stops and the tickets are valid for 48 hours. We saw that one of the stops was the Alhambra so we could jump off there, do our tour and catch the next one to complete the circuit.

The visit to the Alhambra was again amazing. I had been there 3 or 4 times already and each time I find it more beautiful. It was the palace of the Arab governor of Spain and Morocco and it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. There is a sense of beauty and peace in this building that is unique in the world. It emplacement high above the valley of Granada affords it the most beautiful views in all directions. The intricate stone carvings, reflecting pools and geometric gardens with flowering trees and oranges always gives me a sense of being in a world away from the world. To visit the place really one needs a full day. We spent many hours there on that beautiful sunny afternoon and left only because some of us were starting to starve.

We hopped back on the double decker and headed back to the starting point of the tour which took about 45 minutes. B loves these buses. So much so that she and Emmett decided just to stay on the bus and do another tour. I headed off to an internet café to catch up on my email traffic which I cannot get onboard the ship.


We met that evening and had a pleasant dinner on Plaza Bid and headed back to the hotel. Emmett needed to catch up on his Facebook traffic so we went to another café where I used my Skype connection to talk to a number of people. We got back late and slept a short night before heading to Sevilla.

We arrived in Sevilla after a 2 hour drive from Granada. The countryside is beautiful even in these winter months. The road goes through huge valleys where hundreds and thousands of Olive trees are planted from the valley floor up to the tops of the lower mountains. Part of the beauty of Andalucía is its mountains, some of which were snow covered in the distance where there are ski stations at this time of year.

In Sevilla, we parked the car on the way to the center and walked down to the old part of Sevilla. The streets are so narrow here that a car is a hindrance. After a nice walk we arrived at the center and visited the Cathedral. As it Granada, the Cathedral of Sevilla is almost too overpowering. One sees the riches which had been Spain’s in the masses amounts of gold which had been plundered from North and South America. A dark period in Spanish history for most but a glorious one for Spaniards. Again, we found the tour bus and took a long drive around Sevilla. This city does not nearly have the charm of Granada as it is much more an industrial city with a Hodgepodge of architecture from all the various periods of the city. It is also basically flat so there are few breathtaking views. After a light sandwich lunch at the Starbucks in front of the Cathedral (how touristy is that???) we jumped into a taxi to reclaim our car in the parking building near the outskirts of town and hit the road to Cadiz. We made Cadiz by 7pm in time for dinner on the ship; I dropped B and Emm at the port gates and then drove the car off to the appointed parking building where I left it and dropped the papers through a slot in the door of the office.

It just started to rain when I boarded the ship and it was nice to be home. After an early dinner, we headed for our cabins for an early night as we were all tired after a long but fun trip.
Today we ship out to Gibraltar to get fuel and then head to Morocco where we will be for 4 days.
I am posting this chapter and Chapters4 and 5 sitting in the Plaza de Minas in Cadiz where the city has set up the whole square as a free wireless area. It is a beautiful day with the sun shining and the birds chirping in the trees. Spring is in the air as the weather is slowly warming and the locals are out for their Saturday walks with the kids. Although it is about 70 degrees (21), the kids are bundled up in parkas as we would do in the dead of winter. Its what you are used to. We walked around the city and B and Emm decided to head back to the ship for lunch. I have just had some great calamares while watching the scene. We have picked up provisions for munchies and other necessities for the cabin as well as newspapers and magazines.

Pictures of our stay in Spain can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/akeyserlingk/Spain2009?authkey=YmAjkcZyQh8&feat=directlink

We ship out at 8pm this evening but everybody has to be on the ship 2 hours before shipping time Otherwise, one gets dock time which means that one is delayed from disembarking at the next port for 2 to 6 hours depending on how late one is. This is the first port so there will be some who do not realize the length of the lines one has to endure as each bag is searched to make sure the students do not smuggle stuff on board like booze. As there is only one entry, this procedure can be long so I intend to get the ship before that happens.

Cadiz, January 31, 2009.