Throw him in….Throw him in… they chanted. Firework night was celebrated in style. Little Bay was packed with children – young and old! – for the bonfire, hot dogs, sparklers, and, of-course the fireworks. The bonfire crackled and spat, sending sparks, and flames, high into the moonlit sky.
An orderly queue, safely marshalled, of kids dragged their guys – pirates, spacemen, monsters, and more, to the fire. On the count, and to the chant “Throw him in…. Throw him in…”, together with a great cheer, the guy’s were thrown. One at a time to the flames they flew. With a background of The Rock, Africa, Spain, and the Bay of Gibraltar, it was a memorable evening.
The Romans called Gibraltar, Calpe, and recognised the rock as one of the two Pillars of Herakule, the other being Jebel Musa, in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, on the other side of the Straits.
Neolithic man lived here. The Phoenician’s called it the end of the known world, and it has been fought over by many others, each leaving their imprint, but it was the Moors who gave Gibraltar its present name. Jebel means mountain, Tarik was the Moorish leader who controlled this area and who built his castle on the rock – Jebel Tarik. There are Moorish baths, great bastions, tunnels from the Great Siege and WW2, Victorian and Spanish style housing, the docks that Nelson used, and the airport marking the border with Spain, and still the arguements over ownership rumble on.
Avocette is safely moored in part of the old RN Dockyard. The sun is shining, and temperatures still climb into the low to mid- twenties. This year’s sailing is now at a close. Next years is in the planning; Lift-out and anti-foul in February, then into the Mediterranean in March.
The planned route is Costa del Sol, then crossing to explore the Balearics, Sardinia, Sicily, and on to Malta. From Malta we head north to find active volcanoes and ancient ruins, art and history, islands and the Rivera.
For once we can be a little more planned in our route and timings, though with sailing nothing is set in stone, and we look forward to lots of family and friends joining our adventure….. but now it’s time to go skiing.
