Reflections on Gibraltar

Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Fri 14 Oct 2016 12:56
We had a superb sail down to Gibraltar, from Tarifa. Downwind, fast and elegant. So much so that we decided to skip Algeciras and went straight into Marina Bay in Gibraltar itself.
Gib has a very distinct character and psyche. We were greeted on arrival by the marina office staff who politely but firmly requested that we immediately remove our Spanish courtesy flag which, in all the maelstrom of harbour VHF directions, dousing sails etc, we had forgotten to take down. No such courtesy to the Spanish authorities is due, and none shall be made by a British yacht in Gibraltar. This is a little more than simple protocol....its clearly deeper than that.
A walk down Main Street made one feel immediately at home. The familiar high street shops were seemingly all there...you might have been in Guildford or Winchester, save for the additional sprinkling of duty free booze shops. Gibraltar is, of course, British but not European. So there are no European taxes, like the pernicious VAT that the Europeans love to charge us. So the shopping is like UK shopping, only cheaper. Theres a nice chandlery too, and Persephone was treated to some new duty free presents. Diesel is 25 pence per litre! Thats like going back to the 1970's!

Gib has much in common with a number of outposts of the British Empire. There's a feeling of power and strength locked in the extensive 18th Century fortifications which dominate the place, even though many of them have been converted to bars and shopfronts now. Its a little like Bermuda in that respect. And the history of the place oozes out of every corner, every street name, every bastion. Its great!

By the time we arrived in Gib, I was well overdue a haircut. To be honest, I had been putting it off for some time, once our outline plan to visit Gibraltar had been confirmed.

A gentlemans coiff is a delicate thing. Not something to trifle with. The communication between barber and client is a nuanced discourse, a mixture of verbal and non verbal exchanges, characterised by a degree of assumption and understatement on both sides. A bond of trust exists which is wrapped up in a common culture between the parties. The risk of an aesthetic disaster caused by a failure in communication because my Spanish and especially Portuguese, could not accurately convey even my simple requirements of a haircut, was not one I had wished to face, and so I had passed by many Iberian barbers, in the expectation of a free and easy exchange in Gibraltar...in English. So I checked out the options, and found a number of suitable establishments in the town, on the Sunday. But closed, of course.

On Monday, I returned to my selected barber shop, went in and sat down, and my barber asked me if I spoke spanish! He had no English at all. All the barbers in Gibraltar are spanish or moroccan! So my best laid plans, were scuppered at the last minute. But here I sat, wrapped and ready, so I surrendered, and came away with a fine, but very short, haircut.

I paid in sterling.

No trip to Gibraltar can be considered complete without a walk across the airport runway. We made several trips across.....its actually strangely compelling....as our selected supermarket was just on the other side of the runway. When a flight is due to leave or arrive, a team of very courteuous young bobbies stop the traffic, lower barriers and invigilate the crowd which assembles, until the plane has passed, and on we go....the road to Spain crosses the runway.

And of course, we visited the Rock itself, made friends with Barbary Apes, and walked the tunnels through the rock, visited the fantastic limestone caves, and so on.

While we were in Gibraltar, we had a delightful afternoon and evening with Paul and Debra ( formerly of Jay Jay, - their new boat is Tumi, and still in the US) and Debras mum. They were on hols a few miles away in Spain and came down to see us....and we had a great meal in one of the plethora of restaurants in the marina. We also caught up again with Marilyn and Malcolm who will leave Revery in Marina Bay for the winter.

Its a great place to visit for a few days. A real " must do" . And the best place to fuel up in the northern hemisphere, to my knowledge!

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