Day 53 ~ Gibraltar or "Location, Location, Location"

 March 3, 2022

64 degrees, sunny, and windy enough that, with my broadbrimmed sunhat, had I been a much smaller person I'd have taken off just like the Flying Nun!

NAUTICAL TERM OF THE DAY ~ In the offing

This phrase currently means something is about to happen. It has evolved from the 16th century usage which meant "a good distance from the shore, or barely visible from land."  (from the Viking Daily)

Today, we're revisiting the rock of Gibraltar. It's quite an impressive site. At 1400 ft above sea level, it's only a little shorter than the sheer sea cliff we saw on Madeira. But as majestic as the Rock is, the entire surface of Gibraltar's peninsula (including the significant portion that's been reclaimed from the sea over the years) could fit handily inside New York's Central Park with plenty of room to spare. In the past, it's been claimed by Morocco, Spain, and for the last 350 years, by the UK. It's now home to 30,000 proudly patriotic British citizens who vote to remain so whenever they get the chance.

The Barbary Apes don't get a say in the matter, but they have a pretty cushy life on Gibraltar.  Actually, they aren't apes. They are a species of macaque, a tail-less monkey, and the 300 or so that call the Rock home are the only European monkeys living in the wild.  (Make that assisted living in the wild. These primates receive periodic rabies and tetanus shots and are fed fruits and vegetables daily, but they are free roaming without any enclosure.)  

If this yearling's fur looks clean, that's because it is. Macaques spend a lot of time grooming each other every day. It's a relaxing, social activity and the groomer sometimes comes up with a salt crystal or an insect snack for his/her trouble.

The monkeys are important to the Rock, partly because they're great for tourism, which is one of the top three sources of income for Gibraltar. Believe it or not, the other two are online gambling and bunkering. (If you've been following this blog you already know "bunkering" is fueling up a ship. Today there were dozens of ships in harbor waiting for their tanks to be topped off.) But back to the macaques...

Legend has it that Gibraltar will remain British only so long as the Barbary Apes are here. The population was down to about 8 individuals after WWII, so Churchill had 10 females and 10 males sent to the peninsula to beef up the numbers. Winston wasn't one to take chances. 

Gibraltar is a strategic piece of real estate. It commands the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and played important roles in a number of conflicts over the years. It was fitted out as a hospital during the Second World War, and served as a listening post. In the event of a global catastrophe, there is space in Gibraltar's cave system to house the entire population of the peninsula. All 30,000 of them...AND their 60,000 Spanish neighbors who live just across the way.  

 

When we were here before, we only rode the cable car up to the top of the Rock. This time, we rode around it and walked inside it! We were surprised to see this manmade waterfall tumbling down the sheer face. Our driver/guide explained that it's not a natural feature. There is a desalination plant inside the Rock. This is the left over salt water that is being returned to the sea in a visually pleasing way. 

Be sure you click on the DH's photo montage today. You'll see St. Michael's Cave, a portion of the interior of the Rock that's been adapted to be a theater with incredible acoustics. He captured the lighthouse that guards the entrance to the Med and is the southernmost European lighthouse. You'll see an exquisite mosque that was built as a "thank you" to the sultan of Morocco (which is only 14 miles across the channel) who aided the residents of the Rock when Franco cruelly blockaded them for years, and tried to starve them out. The DH also shares a photo of the ruins of an 8th century Moorish castle. 

 

Europa Point Lighthouse

I could seriously spend more time here. Even though the island is unabashedly British, it's belonged to so many other countries over the centuries, there are fascinating reminders of those other cultures, Moorish, Spanish, the Phoenicians, Romans... Even evidence of Neanderthal habitation has been found inside the Rock's cave system.  

If only the rocks could cry out, what a tale they'd tell...

Moor,  I mean, More soon!