Hyatt Adventures

Our itinerary changed the week before sailing due to port availability. We were supposed to go to Gibraltar, which we were really looking forward to. Instead we will be going to Ceuta (pronounced thauta). South of the Straight of Gibraltar is Africa. In the very northern part of Africa is Morocco. In a tiny corner of Morocco is the Spanish territory of Ceuta. Now we can say we have been to Africa!

Ceuta is only seven square miles in area! That is where we spent the day. As you can imagine, in such a small area there is not much to do and see. But the way we looked at it, any new place is exciting to explore.

We opted for a land and sea excursion which took us by boat through the Royal walls and along the Mediterranean coast. There is some fascinating history here!

The Royal walls date back to the year 962! They have been rebuilt over the years, but have remained relatively the same.

Ceuta was a naval base since Roman times. In the 1400’s it was captured by the Portuguese who started reinforcing the Royal walls to strengthen their fortress and protect against invasion. In the 1600’s, Ceuta became part of the Kingdom of Spain. A storm damaged part of the wall in 1674, but Spain repaired it and added more to the outside to reinforce the wall.

Currently the border between Ceuta and Morocco is closed due to COVID, but prior to the pandemic, it was a fairly open border with Moroccans coming over daily to work and shop. The cost of goods is considerably cheaper in Ceuta, so Moroccans used to travel there for their weekly shopping trips.

After our boat tour, we walked to the Plaza de Africa in the center of the city. It is a pretty square with a monument built in remembrance of the soldiers fallen in combat during the African War. It has a crypt in the lower part that houses the remains of these soldiers.

In the square is also the Church of our lady of Africa and the cathedral.

From there we walked through the city and along the water.

According to Greek mythology, Africa & Europe were connected by a mountain range until Hercules struck his mace and made an opening in the land now known as the “Straits of Gibraltar”. The two columns symbolize the separation of the two continents of Europe and Africa. The port of Ceuta is named Port Hercules.

Ceuta is a really beautiful, immaculate place and a great walking city.

Since our cruise couldn’t go to Gibraltar, after we left Ceuta, the captain took us on a scenic cruise past it. He got as close as they would let us (3 nautical miles or 18,000 feet) and spun the ship 360° so everyone could see it. We went to the bow of the ship to get a good view, but it was pretty chilly there and there were too many people, so we decided to go back to our balcony and watch from there. Much better!

Holland America is registered in the Netherlands and today is Koningsdag (King’s Day) which all the Dutch celebrate as a national holiday. So of course we had to celebrate too! The Royal color is orange and there was an orange party in one of the clubs tonight. Luckily I brought an orange Gator shirt!