April 28 – The Day the Lights Went out in Gibraltar

A pair of Barbary Apes at the top of the Rock

We docked early this morning in Gibraltar on the European side of the Straits of Gibraltar. In ancient times this was known as the Pillars of Hercules. We had booked a tour which would take us via cable car to the “Top of the Rock.” A minibus took us to the cable car station where we joined a very long line to board. As we waited the cable car stopped and sirens could be heard in the streets. The power went out, as it turned out, everywhere in Gibraltar. We waited nearly half an hour in the line hoping the power would come back on. When it didn’t, we went out on the street and with several other people hired a van and driver to take us on a tour.

( In retrospect we were truly lucky that we weren’t either stuck in a cable car halfway up or stuck on the top with no way to get down except by walking a very steep road which made many switchbacks.)

Anyway, the driver drove us up to the summit with a few stops along the way. The famous caves and tunnels of Gibraltar were closed due to the power failure so we missed them. At the peak we encountered the monkeys, Barbary apes, for which the place is known. We had been told that we needed to be wary of them because they would try to steal cameras, purses and sundry other things. We found them to be very placid creatures that just wanted to sit on the roofs of the cars or on the railings and trees along the road munching on fruits and vegetables. Some looked like babies and one of those sat on Katie’s head after being coaxed there by a driver.

From the summit we could look westward to the Atlantic, north to Spain, east to the Mediterranean and south across the Strait to Africa and the Atlas Mountains. The view was breathtaking! We continued our drive down from the peak and along the way stopped for a view of the runway of the airport. The main road connecting Gibraltar and Spain crosses the runway so traffic has to stop whenever a plane takes off, not a convenient arrangement at all.

We stopped briefly in the main shopping area, but with no electricity, the shops were dark and restaurants were closed so we headed back to the ship.

Gibraltar has a population of 30,000 and has 22,000 registered vehicles. Much of the land has been reclaimed from the sea and dredging for more reclamation was visible everywhere. It is, of course, part of the British Empire (much to the chagrin of Spain) and the residents are British citizens. It’s a big banking center and the main industry is exportation. I asked our guide how that could be since they don’t produce anything in Gibraltar. He explained that their taxes are so low, that they are able to import all sorts of things and resell them making a profit! If the number of ships lying at anchor are an indicator, that must certainly be true.

Now we’re sailing in the Mediterranean with our last sea day coming up tomorrow. Our next port of call will be Cagliari, Sardinia on Friday.