All at Sea

Five years ago Barbara and I spent a week on a small vessel, island hopping along the Croatian coast (postings of 7th May and 12th May 2019), but we always said that one thing we would never do, apart from Karaoke of course, would be to spend precious holiday time on a large cruise ship. So here we are, one week into a cruise down the Iberian coast to north Africa.

Our first major cruise is taking us to places we have never been to before and what made it particularly attractive is that it sailed from, and will return to, Falmouth Docks, a 5 minute journey from home.

At 48,000 tonnes, Ambassador's Ambition is the biggest ship we have been on since we sailed from Southampton to Cape Town on the 38,000 tonnes Windsor Castle almost 55 years ago. Leaving the shelter of the English Channel we entered a gale-swept Atlantic Ocean and two days at sea with daily walks around the promenade decks to counter the great food and drinks on offer in the many bars and restaurants.

Our first port of call was Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, one of the oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city after Athens, predating other modern European capitals by centuries.

Docking in Lisbon

We walked several miles up the narrow medieval streets, reminiscent of our recent visit to Zanzibar.

From São Jorge Castle, on one of Lisbon's highest hills, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-coloured buildings, Tagus Estuary and the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge.

The mighty Spanish Armada sailed from Lisbon to England in 1588, passing our starting point of Falmouth en route to its ill-fated destiny in Plymouth at the hands of the English Admiral Sir Francis Drake and the British weather. But in April 1587 a raid by Drake occupied the harbour at the Spanish port of Cádiz for three days, capturing six ships, and destroying 31 others,an event which became known in England as 'The Singeing of the King of Spain's Beard', the attack delaying the sailing of the Armada by a year.

While Lisbon is the second oldest European capital, Cádiz, our next port, was founded 3,000 years ago by the Phoenicians and is the oldest city in Western Europe. Situated on a narrow strip of land surrounded by the sea it is a beautiful city with narrow winding alleys connecting large plazas centering on historical landmarks.

Leaving Ambition for Cádiz

Not too far from Cádiz is Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. 

We arrived in Gibraltar on a dull and wet early morning, but we managed to reach the top of the Rock by cable car and then walk an arduous 10 miles in the nature reserve, coming face to face with the famous Barbary Apes, originating from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Around 300 of these apes populate the Rock, the only wild monkey population in Europe.

Arriving in Gibraltar at dawn

And so ended an excellent first week at sea, with three more ports to call at in our second week. I look forward to sharing more experiences next week.