Today we explored the ever contentious Gibraltar. I say contentious because over the years the area has been under the control of the Moorish Army, the Spanish and as is currently the case, the British. It sits in a strategic location, and such is the power of its location, that it is said 'that whoever controls Gibraltar, the rock and its harbour, is in a good position to control the passage between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic'.

Modern Gibraltar begun in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, when the town and the fortress was captured by British Forces . While it has remained under British rule since, there have been several attempts by the Spaniards and French to recapture it.

The Great Siege between 1779 and 1783 resulted in the Spanish and French bombarding and trying to starve the British Garrison into submission. At the height of siege, it is said that 40,000 heavy cannon rounds were fired by both sides in a single day. The fire power used by the Spanish lead the British to tunnel into the solid rock for safety.

During WW2, Gibraltar served as a key naval and air base. The position of the town was critical in the campaign against the German U-boats and in monitoring Mussolini's fleet. While the Spanish never attacked the rock during WW2, it is believed that General Franco wished to regain the area and as such additional tunnels and other preparations were done.

While there hasn’t been an attempt by Spain to regain control of the area, they did cut off communication by land for several years and there have been issues with the border .

To get to the top of the rock, the most scenic way is to catch the cable car up. Normally cable car carriages hold 30 people, however we got to the bottom station early and only had to share our one with three other people. Today was one of the more windy days, so on our trip up the carriage was rocking a little bit, that said we were lucky as they actually closed it around lunchtime.

Other than the tunnels and the view of Morocco/North Africa, people visit the rock to see the monkeys. Native to only the prong of land covered by Gibraltar and not the rest of Spain, the Barbary Apes (which are actually tailless monkeys) make their home through out the Nature Reserve that makes up the higher part of the Rock.

Legend says that Britain will retain the Rock as long as the Apes live here. Such is the conviction behind this legend, that when the Apes looked to be dying out during the War, Churchill bought in ape reinforcements from North Africa . Today there are about 60 apes roaming the reserve. Entry fees paid by tourists and local taxes provide funding to care for the apes. I believe the apes are vaccinated and first thing in the morning, they are provided with some fruit and vegetables at certain feeding areas. The fine for people feeding an ape is 4000 pounds.

The other highlights of the rock Nature Reserve is St. Michael’s Cave and a Moorish Castle. The cave contains stalagmites and stalactites lit up in pretty colours and a weird subterranean breeze. The acoustics of the cave is such that they sometimes host performances within it. Where as the castle is a medieval fortification that due to its location is visible from most of the town.

While we were disappointed in not being able to make it Great Europa Point (the Southern most point of Gibraltar) to see North Africa clearer, the Pillar of Hercules, the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, the Shrine to our Lady of Europe and the Lighthouse, we did cover a lot of ground in half a day .

Having seen the apes, the tunnels, the Moorish Castle and the cave of St. Michael, we power walked back to the ship. It took a bit longer than we had planned but after hiking up and down the roads of the rock, we were happy to back on the ship.

After lunch the ship left the harbour and made its way through the Strait of Gibraltar, where we left behind the Mediterranean and moved in to the Atlantic Ocean. This move bought with it some high winds and a little bit of a bumpy ride towards our second last port for the sector – Lisbon.

Fun fact:
In the 1967 referendum asking whether Gibraltar should return to Spain or remain British, the overwhelming vote by the inhabitants was to remain British.