around. They all met up again, their U-turns having gone unnoticed by the police officers manning the checkpoint. They then continued south using minor roads to minimise the chance of running into police again. Algeciras When they were near Algeciras, they booked separately into three different hotels in the town, and changed hotels often over the next few weeks. They paid their bills weekly in cash, which after a while raised suspicions, leading to their arrest. They kept the explosives in one of the cars and used only the other two for transport. For the first few days, they surveyed Algeciras Bay in search of the best place to enter the water and to observe maritime traffic in and out of Gibraltar. There was not as much British security in Gibraltar as they had expected: two sentry posts were unmanned, and only one small Royal Navy patrol craft was observed guarding the waters of the port. They bought an inflatable raft to cross part of the bay, and a telescope and fishing tackle to give cover to their activities. The plan was to enter the water at 18:00, swim across, plant the mines around midnight, and swim back by about 05:00. The mines would explode a short while afterwards. They would then drive north to Barcelona, cross into France, then Italy, and fly back to Argentina from there. Aborted attempts The first opportunity came when a British minesweeper entered Gibraltar, but Anaya did not consider the target worth the effort. A few days later, Nicoletti suggested sinking a large oil tanker with non-British flag, as it would block the port of Gibraltar, but Anaya decided against it, since an oil spill and environmental disaster could provoke outrage in Spain, especially if it damaged the tourism industry, and could affect other Mediterranean countries. For weeks, the commandos continued their routine of changing hotels and renewing their car rental. At the time, the British task force was already sailing south towards the Falklands. Finally, a high-value target, the frigate , arrived in Gibraltar on 2 May 1982, but Anaya again refused permission to attack it, this time because Peruvian President Fernando Belaúnde had just produced a comprehensive peace plan that Anaya believed might produce a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which could be undermined by a successful attack in Gibraltar. Later that day, the Argentine cruiser was attacked and sunk by the