Gibraltar, UK

The Rock of Gibraltar

Our final stop on the cruise, Gibraltar, United Kingdom, has just appeared on the horizon.  There seems to be a rather menacing looking cloud lingering over the top of The Rock of Gibraltar.  But Tom has arranged a private tour for our group to visit - rain or shine.  

We had a large group, so two tour buses, which arrived almost one hour late, were used to get us around Gibraltar. 

 

The tour bus with guide, Bill, was comfortable.  Bill was hilarious  as he explained the local sites and discussed political history of Gibraltar.  In the 1960's, the people voted whether to switch to Spanish rule.  All but 44 Gibraltarians voted to stay with the UK.  The next day, there were 44 suitcases sitting on the dock to ship this folks back to Spain.  I don't know if this is factual, but very funny.  We should do that in the U.S.!!

The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark in the region.  The densely populated city at the base of Gibraltar is home to 30,000 Gilbraltarians.   

Gibraltar was a hugely important base to the Royal Navy during World War II as it controlled the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean, which is only eight miles wide at this point.

Gibraltar's economy is based largely on tourism, on line gambling, financial services and shipping.   What the heck is "on line gambling?" 

Spain would like to claim Gibraltar, but Gibraltarians have overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty, so the United Kingdom is still in charge here.  However, I'd like to point out who really rules Gibraltar ... the damn monkeys!!  

These furry little creatures look harmless, right??  Who'd have thought they could be so rude.

They live at the top of the Rock and there is no question who truly runs things.  They sit on their little furry butts waiting for an unsuspecting tourist to walk by with a bag.  These innocent looking little creatures are anything but innocent.  They keep themselves well fed and entertained by stealing from tourists.

This little thief is enjoying MY Snickers Bar.  I did not ask for it back.  But I did consider dropping him over that rail behind me.

  

The monkeys slowly wander up to an unsuspecting tourist and then quickly makes a pass, snatching bags then darts away with them, tearing into the bag as they run.  They are looking for food, so when they steal a bag with  cute little souvenirs, like stuffed monkeys, or Gibraltar hats, they simply toss those down the mountain and go back to attack another tourist.   Needless to say, the gift shop at the top of the Rock does quite well.  And so do the monkeys. 
  

This monkey is going for Trent's hat.

Yeah, you look all coy.

You belong behind bars!!

Going up.

Going down.

Transportation to the top of the Rock was via cable car.  In spite of the thieving monkeys, the view from the top was spectacular.  We could see our ship docked below in the port, then across the Straights of Gibraltar all the way to Spain, and the densely populated and expensive city below,  as well as the airport runway, which was built from reclaimed marsh area.

  

The Regent Seven Seas Explorer is the smaller ship in the front.

But one of the most interesting phenomena was the fierce easterly wind blowing that cloud I mentioned earlier against the Rock, and becoming trapped at the top of the mountain.  The view was fabulous on one side of the Rock, but we could see nothing but the cloud on the other side ripping in a powerful upward motion against the mountain.  It's kind of hard to explain, but perhaps you can get this idea from this photo.

The easterly winds blast the cloud against the rock and the cloud shoots over the top.

Haynes enjoying the view with the cloud blast behind.

Haynes, Monte and Bruce enjoying Tapas at the Top of the Rock Cafe.  Actually, we're hiding from the monkeys who were lingering outside waiting to attack.

Our tour took us through many tunnels on Gibraltar.  The guide told us there were more tunnels through the mountain than regular roads here. 

 

Tunnels were built throughout the Rock.

They were everywhere.  We also visited a light house at EuroPoint which allowed for a beautiful view of the Rock.  It also shows how the cloud gets trapped at the top.

View of the Rock from the Lighthouse shows how the cloud gets trapped at the top of the mountain.

Lighthouse at Euro Point.

When the tour of the city, which was not particularly well organized, went to the glass blowing factory to see the glass blower at work ... and he wasn't at work ... a small group of us mutinied and left the guide behind to find a lunch spot.  We didn't have to walk far as the glass blowing factory was located in a lovely square filled with outdoor restaurants, shops, children playing and people enjoying the beautiful afternoon.  

These kids were having a blast making giant bubbles.

We quickly found a table to accommodate our group of eight and ordered a typical UK dish of fish and chips, while enjoying the people watching.  

Our lunch spot.

My first cappuccino with fish and chips.  Yum!

"Clean up on table five.  Thank you."

After lunch, we stopped at the glass blowing factory to find the glass blower at work.  The blower was not a particularly jovial guy, but he did know his way around a glass blowing tube.  It was quite interesting to watch a piece of molten glass turn into a beautiful vase.  

"Mr. Personality" hard at work.

Haynes making friends.

Melody and Tom offer a few tips to the blower.

Next, we found our way back to the ship and took up residence at the pool bar for cocktails until time for our evening hors d'oeuvres in our suite.  

Wooley DayCare Cups at the pool bar.  They hold so much more than the tiny bar glasses.  Everybody wanted one.  But they are quite rare and a collectible for sure!!

Although caviar is only offered as an appetizer once on the cruise, Fernando knows I love it.  I'm not sure how he does it, but he's been bringing caviar to our suite every night.  I'm not complaining!!  Fernando is the best!! 
    

Evening caviar delight.

  Gotta love Fernando!

We enjoyed our caviar snack while sailing away and enjoying the views of Gibraltar.  

Sailing away from Gibraltar.

Bruce and Gail are in the suite right above ours.

We joined Bruce, Gail, Karen, Monte, Tom and Melody for dinner tonight at Chartreuse to celebrate Tom and Melody's 49th wedding anniversary. Tom wanted French Fries with dinner.  Well, French Fries were not on the fancy French menu, and the waiter was aghast at the request.  However, some of the pool bartenders who recognized Haynes as the man who "made it rain" with generous tips all week, had a quiet chat with the waiter and the next thing you know, two large bowls of French Fries arrived at our table.  Thanks Haynes.  

Dinner was good.  The company was better.  And even though we had a day at sea coming up the next day, we decided to call it a night.  Tomorrow, our last day on the ship would be spent at sea sailing to Barcelona.  Nite nite.