Location: The Med - 36.08N 4.56W
Once again, good afternoon, family, friends, and other fauna; this is your skipper of the day: Madeleine.
Ahh… where to start? After being told yesterday that a large storm was to blow through the western end of the Mediterranean, we were told by our Captain that we would have to leave Gibraltar a day earlier than expected to beat the storm. The crew was bummed that we couldn’t enjoy as much shore time as we thought, but when told by Carolyn that we could still do the hike to the top of The Rock of Gibraltar: we were quickly placated.
I don’t know what it was that made us crazy. Perhaps it was the limited amount of walking space that we were allotted while sailing across the Atlantic, perhaps it was the fact that we only had sixteen hours on land in more than a week, maybe it was that we all had grown so close over the past month that nothing could tear us apart; but whatever it was, we decided to hike the 456 meter Rock in the strait of Gibraltar at 5 a.m.
That’s right; you heard me correctly, loyal readers. Almost the entire crew got themselves out of bed (it was an optional hike) and proceeded to walk for three and a half hours up a gigantic rock to watch the sunrise. After a few water breaks, we reached the top of the gargantuan cliff and watched the sunrise. While I cannot fully express to you the absolutely pure and true beauty that were the colors of that sunrise–and I don’t think your loved ones will be able to either–I can tell you some things that happened during the sunrise. 1. Ben was mugged…. by a monkey. 2. Becki thwarted off a different monkey, and 3. Everyone on this boat will agree that a 112-foot boat does not prepare you for a hike like that.
We then had breakfast, cleaned the boat, and set sail. And to the parents of Rex: we want to say that he is AMAZING. Argo will never be as clean without him. We celebrated a delicious dinner and Tina’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TINA.
I must leave now, ‘duty calls, and whatnot’ (Taylor M.) We love you all and miss you and will probably call in Mallorca (but no promises, we might be too busy having adventures).
With love
Madeleine : )