June 25 – Gibraltar

Today we had our last port call of the cruise in Gibraltar. This “Rock” stands at what the ancients called the Pillars of Hercules with Africa to the south and Europe on the northern side of the narrow straits.  The place is named after the first Moorish king who captured it on his way to conquering most of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8^th century.  The place was called Gibel Tarik (Tarik’s Hill) and eventually that became Gibraltar. It remained in Moorish hands for nearly seven centuries before the Spanish reconquered it in 1462. 

In 1704 the British captured Gibraltar while fighting Spain and France, and it has remained in British hands ever since, despite repeated attempts by the Spaniards to reclaim it.  Tensions still run high between the two countries despite more than 300 years of British possession. 

Gibraltar is a massive limestone peninsula riddled with caves and tunnels.  Some are naturally formed; others were excavated to be used for fortifications during various wars. The population is around 28,000 and there are 20,000 cars and 10,000 motorbikes on the Rock.  Needless to say, traffic is horrendous.  There is no land available for agriculture so all food has to be brought in from elsewhere.  There are also no natural sources of water. Water used for drinking is produced via desalinization. Seawater is used for almost all other purposes, including firefighting and flushing toilets.

The top of the Rock with plenty of traffic 

We were very lucky today.  We decided to hire a taxi to take us on a tour of the island.  By happenstance we wound up with a great driver named Peter who had been doing taxi tours since 1973.  He was full of historical information, but something else made our trip with him special.  Peter evidently is well-known by the Barbary Apes who occupy the upper parts of Gibraltar.  As our van pulled up to the various points of interest, apes would come running over and hop up on the mirror by the driver’s window.  Peter brings food along with him and the apes remember him.  At one stop, the Great Siege Tunnels, there was a solitary ape that Peter said is sort of an outcast.  He brought him a bag of peanuts and while we watched the ape cracked and ate all the nuts.  He didn’t chew and swallow them; instead he tucked them into the pouches in his jowls.  When he was finished, his cheeks looked enormous!

This fellow looked very pensive!

The toes and fingers intrigued us

A distinguished profile

The peanut eater - notice his fat left cheek where he's tucked all his nuts

Katie will write about the places we visited in her post later on.  It was a lovely day here with gorgeous blue skies, a mild temperature and not really huge crowds since we were the only ship in port.  As I sit on my balcony now watching Gibraltar fade into the distance, I hope we’ll have the opportunity to come again.