Gibraltar

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Thu 16 Sep 2010 16:53
One problem with Gibraltar has been that we have been unable to continue putting off all the jobs that needed doing on the boat! Previously we have had the excuse that there was no chandlers nearby or that they didn't speak English but that is not the case here and we have been really busy. This morning John set off to gear himself up for fishing - two hours later he returned with a rod and reel, bags full of bits and pieces and a huge smile on his face - boys and toys - needless to say no more jobs got done while he was fiddling with his new kit!

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This afternoon we went on a guided tour of all the historical sites in Gibraltar. As far as tourism goes Gibraltar actually relies on day visitors from cruise ships etc and this is why although the town is busy during the day, the town at night is very quiet. There are about 4 million visitors each year in about three months and as we went round it was very busy.

The first place we stopped briefly, were the Pillars of Hercules which had great views of the Straits of Gibraltar to Africa. Then we went on to St Michael's cave which dates back about 40,000 BC. It is a maze of caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites. The caves have been formed by water dripping through the limestone and eroding the rock away. The caves are so large that during the war they were fitted out as a military hospital but are now used to stage concerts.

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Some of the stalactites in St Michael's Cave

Next stop was to see the Barbary Apes. These monkeys originally came from Africa on board ships as pets and many were left behind and began living on the Rock. Winston Churchill believed that as long as there were apes on the Rock, the Rock would remain in British hands, so much so that when the population began to drop during WW2 he went to Africa to bring more apes back to Gibraltar. The monkeys are very cute and used to humans, they will sit on your car or even your shoulder for a photo - I am definitely not that brave! This stop allows you to see the highest point on the Rock, about 426m above sea-level. All the highest points of the Rock are still used now as military bases and, as such, can't be visited.

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A cute shot of a family of Barbary Apes - aaahhh

The last stop was the siege tunnel. This is a warren of tunnels dug through the Rock for defensive purposes agains the Spaniards. These were excavated in 1779. These were used again in WW2 when an attack on Gibraltar was anticipated. Interestingly enough there are more miles of tunnels through the Rock than miles of roads in Gibraltar!

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Us in Gib - notice weather - it's just like home, cloudy and it rained today!!

Lastly, there will be no more blogs for a couple of weeks as we are heading home tomorrow until the 29th September - more to follow later.