Day 10 - (June 6) - Gibraltar
We left Malaga at 10 pm last night and arrived in Gibraltar before 8 am this morning.
We woke up to clouds, a chill in the air and some humidity – wishing it would clear so we could see the Rock. Our Europe point and Alameda Gardens excursion started at 8:30 am, so we met Debbie and Sandy for breakfast since they were accompanying us.
We drove up to Europa point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean seas meet. It supposed to feature sweeping, panoramic views of the Strait of Gibraltar and the coast of North Africa. Well, no – not when we visited.
The Europa Point Lighthouse, also referred to as the Trinity Lighthouse at Europa Point. The lighthouse is owned by Trinity House, which was founded by Royal Charter in 1514 and is the general lighthouse authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. It maintains navigational aids such as lightvessels and buoys, as well as communications services and pilotage for ships in the North Sea. There was a small window – perhaps 5 minutes – during which I could get a photograph before the fog rolled in again. I’m posting a photo of the lighthouse from a boat looking toward it and the rock.
We didn’t stay long – wind was blowing, it was cold and damp so we went to the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens or La Alameda. The gardens span around 15 acres on the western slope of the Rock (it is protected from the strong winds of the straits) and were commissioned by the British Governor of Gibraltar General George Don in 1816. He intended it to be a pleasant recreational area for soldiers stationed in the fortress to enjoy when off duty. It is on the western side of the rock
The gardens were resurrected in 1991 and a zoo was added three years later.
One of the more interesting trees was the Dracaena draco (Canary Islands Dragon Tree); the oldest dragon tree in the gardens is about 300 years old. We didn’t see a lot of plants blooming, but saw cacti, monuments and such.
You’ll see a photo of the castle and key set in the lawn of The Dell while a woman on the terrace above it prepares for a wedding – which we kind of crashed coming out of the gardens. The castle and key set is the coat of arms of Gibraltar and was first granted by a Royal Warrant passed in toldeo on July 10, 1502, by Isabella I of Castile during Gibraltar’s Spanish period. The arms consists of an escutcheon and features a three-towered red castle under which hangs a golden key.
A little about Gibraltar: it was first inhabited over 50,000 years ago by Neanderthals. It’s recorded history bega around 950 BC, with the Phoenicians among the first to recognize and worship the genius loci of the place. There is evidence that shrines to Hercules were built on the rock of Gibraltar. It too has been settled by Visigoths, Moors, Christians and was under Spanish rule until 1704. It was captured during the war of the Spanish Succession by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in the name of Charles VI of Austria, the Hapsburg contender to the Spanish throne. At the war’s end, Spain ceded the territory to Britain under the terms of a 1713 treaty.
Our guide told us that the 40,000 people who live in Gibraltar have voted in two referendums to remain a British territory instead of a Spanish territory, and the community is not accepting any more residents – not even British folk. Our guide said one-third of the labor force live in Spain and commute, and most of the money comes from online gambling, as a majority of those companies are located here.
More trivia: John Lennon married Yoko Ono here; Sean Connery has been married twice here; and Roger Moore was married here.
An interesting thing are the tunnels of Gibraltar. We didn’t visit them – not much of the 34 miles of tunnels are open to the public. They first tunnels were excavated in the late 18th century; they served as communication passages between artillery positions and housed guns. More tunnels were constructed in the 19th century to provide easier access to remote areas of Gibraltar and accommodate reservoirs to deliver a water supply. The greatest extent of tunnelling was in the 20th century when it was turned into a huge underground fortress capable of accommodating 16,000 men along with all the supplies, ammunition and equipment needed to withstand a prolonged siege.
We got back to the ship around 10:30 but couldn’t shower as our room was being cleaned so I figured out how to use the internet on my laptop so I could do the blog and get it uploaded. Been working on it all afternoon, although we did shower and have lunch. Beth did the laundry.
One to Seville tomorrow. We’ll be there 2 ½ days.
I had to look up the Canary Islands Dragon Tree---what a great looking tree! The Socotra Dragon Tree is supposedly viable here, so you could plant one and find out!
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