Lunch on board
Lunch was in a very busy Belvedere restaurant. This was one of the few times that we ate in this restaurant and it was not a great experience. Our steaks were barely edible and we both left a good part of our lunch rather than struggle trying to chew the meat.
At lunch in the Belvedere, I chatted to one of our fellow passengers who had been whale watching in the Azores with us. She had been on a dolphin watching trip that morning from Gibraltar. Their boat had had to travel for an hour to see a small pod of (she guessed only) six dolphins. Then it was an hour to get back. Given that the trip was scheduled to last 2.5 hours we all concluded that this trip had been a waste of time.
Leaving Gibraltar
Here’s the queue for returning with alcohol taken from our balcony.
Back in our cabin I swapped lenses and we joined everyone at the stern for the sailaway from Gibraltar. The dock below us looked the worse for wear.
We could clearly see the large private yachts moored in the basin.
The Great British Sailaway, a P&O tradition when leaving Gibraltar.
I tried to decide which side of the ship might give me the best opportunity to see dolphins. But given what we had learnt at lunchtime I was not confident that I’d see any. I chose the port side and waited. There were no planes landing on the runway this time when we left.
This was the first time that we had left Gibraltar and not seen any dolphins. Perhaps, it was the time of year and they were had moved out into the Mediterranean for their food.
I stood at the rails scanning the sea for any glimpses of dolphins. Instead took more pictures of the Rock as we sailed out into the Straits of Gibraltar.
After the sailaway had finished at 3 pm, I was getting cold from the wind we then went back inside to try the Belvedere again. This was now afternoon tea time and the food rolls, cakes and tea made up for lack of a lunch!
Back in the cabin I settle down to read my book and even managed a few minutes of sleep.