Ruth flew out to the States yesterday (via London), and that drew a tear to Will's eye. He loves her so!

The day prior we had the chance to "walk the rock". It was long, tiring, and incredible!! There is a cable car you can take to the top, but we were glad to have done it on foot. The Mediterranean steps are carved into the limestone on the sheer, eastern cliff face of the rock, and allowed us to "circumnavigate" the Pillar of Hercules. I was glad we were going up so we didn't have to look down! They warned that people with vertigo should reconsider, and I can see why! But the views and experience were breathtaking.

At the sumimt we were so high that we were in the middle of the cloud that is often seen "hung up" by the rock. Clouds wisp by in the winds, but the Rock of Gibraltar is so high that it often reaches up and catches one of them and hangs onto it -- much like what Mt. Rainier does in the Seattle area.

On the way down we visited with the Barbary apes -- tailess monkeys that are very aggessive, hungry, and cunning. We saw more than one visitor have a food item ripped out of their hands and the monkey would be on the roof eating it before the individual knew what hit them! The rock is also full of all kinds of tunnels built over the years by various regimes to defend this strategic position -- the most recent being WW II. And the Moors built this castle with walls about six feet thick for refuge during a siege! The whole day was quite exhilirating.

The past week has been an incredible experience. There is a general "flow" of sailors now headed south to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands from which they will then jump over to the Caribbean like us. We are making friends on a daily basis. These are people we will likely see in the Canaries and/or the Caribbean in another 1-6 months! This whole "milk run" takes on the feel of a sort of exodus. In the Med we were lucky to see the same boat twice. Now, for the next 6 months or more, we will be renewing friendships we are forming now. It is an interesting dynamic at work as the passagemakers come together here at Gibraltar on their way out of the Med.

The delivery crew arrives today, and I am getting excited -- excited about finally having some guests/friends on board and excited about getting under way. We have a lot of water to put under our hull. This time next year we will likely be in New Zealand!

But for now the focus is on the crew. Victor arrives from the States on the same flight as John and Peter. Victor has a sistership to Time Warp and has been a regular follower and contributor to this blog. John and 'Little Peter' I met off the internet. Little Peter is John's 10-year-old godson, so I am looking forward to having them aboard and especially for more of that youthful energy!

Later in the day Elise arrives from France. Elise is the only one of the original ARC crew making the delivery. The others had last-minute emergencies that necessitated canceling on the delivery. Elise had been working hard on assembling costumes. There is a costume party in St. Lucia and we are all dressing up in the theme of the Rocky Horror Picture Show! Elise has been working with her friends in Paris (who are involved in sewing and theater!) to put these costumes together -- so it should be really exciting!

Earlier we had planned to head south Friday evening. But there are a series of lows in the N. Atlantic that have the winds on our route looking most unfavorable. So we will hang here for the weekend. It looks like the next weather window is opening up on Monday morning, so we'll shove off then if the forecast holds. I met a gal off an Oyster 68 last night who is also leaving Monday morning, so we'll wave to them as we sail by!! :-) I suspect we won't be the only two boats out there either!!