Since we were both awake at this point, once the liferaft had been collected, rather promptly at 0900 as pre-arranged, bacon butties were enjoyed for breakfast, following which we decided that a nice stroll through the Gibraltar Botanical Gardens would take the edge off our day and clear Elaine’s head.
What we weren’t expecting was a report back from the safety equipment provider servicing the liferaft, indicating that we didn’t have any water or food packed in the liferaft; the Malaysian service provider had decided, in their infinite wisdom, to leave out the most important items, rendering it essentially useless, for the most part, had we needed to abandon ship. Disgraceful actually!
Setting that thought aside, we enjoyed a wander around the gardens, but, with the change of season, there weren’t many flowers in bloom. There were, however, little bridges, streams, fountains and ponds to enjoy instead, together with a beautiful hanging plant which we’ve never seen before; no idea what it was called, though, since none of the plants were identified with a plague in the usual manner for a botanical garden.
On our return, we stopped in at the Piccadilly Garden Bar for a coffee and apple pie, hoping that we had actually received the decaffeinated option we asked for. Fortunately, it seemed we did, because we were both able to nap for the first time in days on our return to Paw Paw, but we’re not altogether sure we felt any better for it. Clearly our bodies were still fatigued, but somewhat anxious as well, about our upcoming ocean crossing, more so because of the orca threat than anything else.
With time to spare before our dinner outing, Elaine started packing and printed off our approved Customs Declaration for entry into Gibraltar, needed for our return flight, along with a few other documents, while Roy walked to Morrison’s to get a few odds and ends.
A quick chat to Keenan was followed by a stroll to the Stagioni Italian Restaurant, arriving in time for our dinner reservation. Warm goat cheese coquettes in honey and tuna, swordfish and salmon carpaccio was shared as a starter, followed by a vegetarian ravioli in a cheese sauce for Elaine and a seafood pasta for Roy. A stroll to the waterfront to watch the sunset was definitely needed after that. We were surprised, however, to see the number of fish as we peered over the wall into the water below, as the sun dropped behind the hillside in the distance.
A rare blue supermoon brought our day to a close, a phenomenon that last occurred in 2009 and happens when two full moons occur in one calendar month, but, in this instance, this blue moon coincided with a super moon, when the moon appears larger and brighter than usual because the moon is at its closest point in its orbit around earth.
Today was all about getting errands completed; first up was a walk to the town centre for Elaine’s extended eye appointment and to collect the last of her prescription medications. She was definitely very impressed with the consultation and examination conducted to confirm her retina on both eyes had remained unaffected by her medications. However, the corticosteroids had caused a rectifiable issue in her one eye; a known side effect requiring surgery that will have to wait until we return to land permanently. Her prescription has been strengthened slightly, though, as an interim measure and to tide her over until she can have the surgery.
From there we walked to Morrison’s to collect the ingredients for our dinner. With the slightly cooler weather, we’d opted for Roy’s famous homemade vegetable soup; something for which our bodies were very grateful, but not enjoyed until we’d both had another afternoon nap, washed the decks again, which were filthy from the traffic pollution, repositioned some of the fenders and tidied up all the docklines, in preparation for leaving Paw Paw in the marina for a week or two.
