Hello from Gibraltar where we completed our very last Mediterranean passage from Cartagena, Spain. We were accompanied by lots of dolphins as we entered Gib and it made the trip very memorable. What also made the trip memorable, was the 2kt current against us for 12 hours!!! Our timing coincided with the Super Moon effect but we didn't expect such a strong current.

We have spent the last two weeks in Marina Bay, in the heart of Gibraltar (well, it's not that big a place, but still) and the Super Moon effect also meant that getting on and off the boat during the first week we resembled mountain goats at times as the extreme tides meant that the journey across the passerelle to pontoon was like a precipice!

The last time we were here was in 2007, when we entered the Med, and so it only seems fitting that we are here again as we leave the Med. It's a good place to be for finishing off boat projects prior to our forthcoming trips and for some major provisioning.

With two fabulous supermarkets in town, together with gin and vodka at £3.50 a litre, our boat must be at least 5 inches lower in the water now. We have shopped so much that we can now feed a small nation and provide drinks for all the upcoming parties (Chris's 60th, Christmas, New Year, crossing the Atlantic, Brazil's Carnival etc).

We plan to climb the Rock and see the Barbary apes again before we leave and from the top look back towards the Mediterranean and all the great times it has provided us with over the years.