Gibraltar, United Kingdom 6/14/24

Gibraltar, United Kingdom

A beautiful morning as we came into port.  Very cloudy so we did not see the top of the Rock as we came in. Gibraltar is a peninsula and was a conquered by Spain in 1492 from the Muslims but lost it to the English in the War of Spanish Succession.  Spain ceded it to England in 1713, giving the English a much-needed naval base.  This is where the famous Battle of Trafalgar was fought between the French and the British.  The British admiral was Lord Horatio Nelson, who strategized the victory, but was shot and killed in the battle.

Sunrise coming into Gibraltar.

We had a small group tour - just 6 of us today, which was nice as you can move a lot more quickly than the large tour groups.  The parks did not open until 9:30 so our tour guide, John (a native), took us to the 100-ton gun first by the back way, and no other groups there yet.  There are only 2 of these guns, one here and the other one in Valetta Malta.  When we go there, hopefully we see the other one.  I think we may have seen it on our first visit to Malta.

There are about 34 miles of tunnels in Gibraltar, constructed over a 200-year period.  The tunnels were primarily built by the British for a variety of battles and were critical in the defense of the rock during WW2.  From this point you could easily see Spain across the water.

This is the boundary between the Straits of Gibraltar in the Atlantic Ocean and the Alboran Sea within the Mediterranean.  Gibraltar played a vital role in both the Atlantic theater and Mediterranean theater.  With Franco refusing to support Germany in its attempt to take the peninsula, the Allies retained control of this very strategic port, and certainly, the outcome of the war may have been very different if Hitler had had his way.

Our next stop was St. Michael's cave and was amazing.  it is called the Awakening which portrays an angel as the lights play over the rock formations.  It was truly beautiful.  Take a look at the videos.

And off to the top of the rock - still cloudy in the morning but we did get clear skies later in the day, so we were able to enjoy our trip to the top.  And of course, monkeys again.  There is a legend that as long as the monkeys survive, so will Gibraltar.  Our guide was not too fond of them but feeds them.  They are fed every day, so the population continues to grow, as they have no natural predators.  They wander freely, but can get nasty, as he warned us to take care when around them.  

Shel almost lost his hat to a monkey.  The little bugger took it and refused to give it back until he got a treat from our guide!

We then headed to the great siege tunnel entrance.  The amazing thing about this tunnel is it was dug out in the 18th century!!  Pretty amazing.  During WW2, the British and Candians dug out two major tunnels, the Great North Road and the Fosse Tunnels. They provided storage, space and siege accommodations.  16,000 troops were stationed there and utilized this tunnel system.  The two new tunnels interconnected with all of the other tunnels so troops could move undetected and protected.  Really a remarkable feat during the war.  Pictures of the group are in front of the cannon by the siege tunnel, and overlooking the airport, which is in Gibraltar, and Spain just on the other side of it. 

This tour was perfect - 3.5 hours and time left over to explore the city a bit.  As we headed into the town square, we were stopped by a reporter and interviewed about the ultimate world cruise.  This is the second time I was interviewed about the cruise, it also happened in Beijing for me.  Didn't quite make the cut in China, except for a quick picture, but it was cool.  

And on to a well deserved cocktail and lunch before we headed back to our ship.

Two days at sea, and then on to Corfu, Greece.  With that port, we are back on track with our original itinerary.