9th June - Gibraltar

Gibraltar has been a British dominion since 1713 when it was ceded by Spain to England in the Treaty of Utrecht. Its important strategic, and desirable, position has led Gibraltar to having many masters down through history and was most notably controlled by the Moors for up to 750 years. Today Gibraltar remains a stronghold of sorts and is primarily an army and naval base. Its duty free status attracts many day trippers from the Spanish costas with reported cheap purchases. Unfortunately this latter highly visible trait dilutes the rich historical character of Gibraltar. Modern high rise housing developments dominate some areas of the Rock and traffic congestion is commonplace.

What seems to have suffered most is the history of the Rock, and while there is much evidence of the current military and naval use, very little of the underlying history and the neglected but proudly named bastions and ramparts, unfortunately lack significance and are lost among the high streets and modern featureless developments. It appears that Gibraltar, probably for the purpose of financial survival, has made a choice and only time will tell whether the Rock will be a better place in the future.

There are still places of interest to be found and the Trafalgar cemetery is noted as the last resting place for two victims of the engagement at Trafalgar. The tombstones pay testament to Gibraltar as a military and naval stronghold and many inscriptions record the battles in which the deceased were wounded, and the ships they served in.


Another location of interest are the botanic gardens where bronze cannon, statues of historical Gibraltarians, and exotic plant life are mixed with interesting results. I had an ulterior motive for visiting the gardens as my nose and face were quite raw from the sun, salt and wind from the day before. Among the many beautiful flowerbeds, shrubs and trees was a large quantity of aloe vera and pealing back the skin of a leaf reveals a gel like centre, which is a great restorative for weathered skin.




There was a larger queue for the cable car to the top of the Rock and we debated walking to the top. Unfortunately, time was not on our side because we needed to refuel and get some fresh provisions, so we contented ourselves with a walk around the town and the sight of many toy Barbary Macaque monkeys being sold to tourists on the high street.

Europe had been in the grip of a transport strike over the past few days and we were to find that fresh food was only beginning to arrive into Gibraltar. The large supermarket was obviously short of stock but the food market had just received its delivery and I purchased a wooden crate of fresh Spanish strawberries, peppers and some swordfish. With everything stowed we departed the marina and proceeded to the fuel berth which is beside the runway for Gibraltar airport. Again the transport strike had an effect here and fuel would not be available for another two days. With enough fuel to get to Barcelona we decided to set off again.

Departing Gibraltar you are required to pass Point Europa and its lighthouse reaching out into the Mediterranean. Modern development is spreading its way down to the point and spoiling some magnificent vantage points. The Macaque monkeys must gaze down at their fellow inhabitants and the occupied areas below them in mixture of amazement and amusement, but are unfortunately confined to and contented with stealing from tourists. Despite this, Gibraltar had one last and unexpected surprise for me, and as we passed Point Europa in glorious sunshine, clearly audible from a mosque set just in behind the lighthouse was the call to prayer. It echoed out along the narrow tip of land and over the water to Fenix as she passed by.


With a slight breeze we ate down below savouring the swordfish followed by the fresh Spanish strawberries with creme caramel as we motored away from the Rock on a course of 76 set for Cabo de Gata and Almeria. We were quickly chased and surrounded by dolphin and a stream of ships made their way down our starboard side and later during the night ships were visible inside our line making for the port of Malaga. The Spanish coast would remain a source of interest on our port side for the next few days as we made our way to Barcelona.