General information on Gibraltar
There is a certain word in the English language that is made up of eight letters; just the mention often sends a shiver down men’s spines. Some men have stood and waited for hours, whilst their other halves go about it with gusto. Some men while waiting have almost expired either from boredom or lack of sustenance; I myself have suffered on numerous occasions. Maybe the epitaph on my headstone will read, I waited… and waited… and waited! Just like many millions of other men. The eight letter word in question is SHOPPING!
As my wife and I travel the world, while I lecture on P&O cruise ships, my wife has had the enviable (to many other women) opportunity to shop on a yearly basis, in San Francisco, Rio, Buenos Aires, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Zanzibar, Cairo, all through the Mediterranean, and then Gibraltar?
Gibraltar! I hear you say, well this happens often to be the first stop by cruise ships, when they leave Britain on a cruise, or the last port of call on the way back from a cruise, where cruisers can spend the last of their Euros, Pounds or Dollars. Gibraltar is a duty free port, and an Aladdin’s cave of cheap booze, cigarettes, perfume, porcelain, cottons, linens, cameras, computers, and other electronic goods; it even has a Marks and Spencer’s.
How many times in the ten years of cruising have we stopped at this port of gluttony? More times than I can remember, going back to the early days, I would shudder at the thought of walking down the seedy narrow Main Street, a fellow entertainer on a ship we were on, described The Gibraltar shopping area as “It looks and smells like a Turkish wrestlers jock strap, crumpled, worn, faded, dirty, and definitely not aromatic”.
However on this visit I am pleasantly surprised, yes the sun is shinning, this always helps to make a difference to the ambience of any port. Gibraltar has changed slowly but surely over the years Main Street has improved 100%, now pedestrianised, most shops have been refurbished, trees line the street, with benches so that us tired bored men can crash out, while the women pursue what comes naturally, and the locals can watch the half naked women tourist go by.
Today there are two ships in dock, ours, the Oceana, and the other is called the Legend of the Seas, between us we have something between 5,000 and 6,000 passengers and crew, as soon as clearance from the local authorities are announced there is a cascade of people pouring, rushing, stumbling and clawing their way down the gangways all with the same intention, to head for Main Street and shop till they drop, I have not seen such a frenzy since I witnessed Piranha feeding up the Amazon.
In past years, to escape the SWS, ( standing and waiting syndrome) I had opted to take some tours looking and learning about the historical side of the Rock, so let me take you on my guided tour to explore one of the most strategically placed Islands in the world.
Those who arrive by cruise ship, can book a tour from onboard, or it is often quite a lot cheaper to get a taxi and negotiate a fee for a tour of the Rock. If you have come over the border from main land Spain for the day as many people do, it is quite easy to get a taxi to take you on a tour, some of the taxi’s are people carriers that will take several people in one go, this should work out even cheaper.
I suppose most of the visitor’s first call is to see the apes, these are a tail-less species of monkey called Barbary Macaques from Morocco and Algeria, the legend says that Britain will occupy the Rock only while the apes remain.
The apes are wild animals and live on the upper Rock, I have seen several examples of people who think that stupidly the apes are nice and cuddly, one women on our ship almost had her nose bitten off (she had nasty bite marks either side of her nose) after she had leaned forward to plant a kiss on an apes face, total madness!, on another occasion an ape sitting on the wall urinated on a man’s shoes he put his camera down on the wall, to wipe off the offending moisture, only for the ape to take the P*SS, and pick up his £300
camera and disappear, he never saw his camera again, (explain that to the insurance company). So beware, the apes look friendly and seem to pose for pictures but they can be very clever, and once in striking distance anything could happen.
Gibraltar along with the Atlas Mountains in Morocco was believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the Pillars of Hercules, the gateway to death and oblivion, and that any ship that dared to sail through the Straights would be crushed. Gibraltar has had all the usual owners as one would suspect being in this region, over its history it has been governed by the Spanish, the Moors and now the British, an ongoing dispute between Britain and Spain is still in contention, even though the Gilbraltarians had voted in a referendum to remain British.
Arab leader Tarik-Ibn-Zeyad became the first conquer of the rock in AD711, he named the Rock after himself Gebel Tarik (the hill of Tarik), and he then invaded Andalusia with an army of 12,000 men. Building a castle upon the Rock he soon realised that he had the whip hand over ships wanting to sail into or out of the Med, he levied dues on the ships, by making them stop at Tarifa and pay up, that is how the word tariff derived.
Several battles took place between 1309 and 1462 as the Spanish and the Moors fought for superiority finally in 1469 Spain was triumphant until 1704, when the British and Dutch captured the Rock during the war of Spanish succession. Then after several attempts by Spain to recapture the Rock had failed in 1779 Spain took siege and maintained the ring of steel around the Rock until 1783 when Lord Howe won a famous naval victory over the Spanish.
The Great siege Tunnels also known as the upper galleries were cut by human hand, hewn out of the Rock by sledgehammers, gunpowder, and sheer sweat, the work began in 1779, finally ending during the Second World War, when the tunnels were used as barracks, hospitals and kitchens.
From the 14th Century Moorish castle you can see why this edifice has commanded the Straights, views from the terraces tell you why the Rock is considered such a strategic military stronghold, the Tower of Homage is the remaining principal building still standing and this gives you an insight into the Moorish way of life.
If you like big guns, I suppose one of the biggest is the 100 ton monster built in 1879 it is the remaining one of four, and fires a shell weighing nearly a ton, for a distance of eight miles, it takes 35 men four minutes to reload, it is situated on the Rosia Road, at Nelson’s Anchorage close to the sight where Nelson was brought ashore after the Battle of Trafalgar.
The cable car station is situated near Red Sands Road, this gives you a spectacular views of Gibraltar and the African coast as it ascends to the top at St Michaels Road, just a short walk away is St Michaels Cave a large Limestone cavern with a remarkable collection of Stalactites and Stalagmites, the legend that surrounds Cathedral Cave is that it is bottomless and links Gibraltar to Africa, the main chamber has been used in the past as a stunning setting for musical concert or ballet.
Trafalgar Cemetery bears witness to not only the courage of War hero’s but the past harshness of life on the Rock as many people died of fever, another monument is the one to Gibraltarians who had to be evacuated during the second world war this is on the North Mole as you walk your way into Main Street from the docks.
The Museum is situated on Bomb House Lane, this traces the history of the Rock; it also has a detailed 29 foot model of the Rock, and has artefacts and relics of Lord Nelson.
The Upper Rock has a nature reserve with a varied selection of vegetation and flowers that includes two rare species, the Gibraltar Candytuft, and the Gibraltar Sea Lavender also wild Narcissus, along with butterflies and insects and several wild species of birds that stop off during the migratory period as they fly between Africa and Europe, the reserve is well worth a visit.
The Alameda Botanical Gardens have a wonderful collection of Subtropical plants, and Europa point near where the Lighthouse was built in 1838 you will find a spring wilderness of glorious flora, and spectacular views across the Straits to the mountains of North Africa.
At the end of Main Street is the Kings Chapel, and Governors residence, next to the Old Convent, the 16th century Chapel houses the regimental colours.
The Rock is 2 miles long and 1,400 feet high, there was no natural source for water in the past, 10% of the water supplies were derived from rain water, the Water Catchment Area, this is a 34 acre sight, is now being dismantled as the Government are satisfied that there are sufficient desalination plants to meet the Rocks water needs.
Food on Gibraltar like anywhere has become peoples prime past time, there are many British style Cafés and Restaurants, but with a large selection of seafood dishes one of the speciality is Calamari, also Spanish Tapas of varying styles and mouth watering tastes, the local drink is “Nelsons Blood” a rum liquor.
So returning to that bad eight letter word SHOPPING, the best way to buy, from my experience is by using British pounds, and sometimes the shopkeepers will allow you to barter, all the shopkeepers know when a ship is arriving, as they have welcome signs printed outside their shops, and offer percentages off for cruisers.
So let the frenzy begin, Booze and Fags (I don’t do either), Lladro, jewellery, cotton and linens sell for crazy prices, I have watched in amusement as hundreds, even thousands of cruisers struggle with umpteen plastic bags, some even buy suitcases or holdalls to ferry their bounty back to the ship.
But if you want to escape the dreaded eight letter word, and wish for a bit of peace and quite, take a gentle boat trip out to see the wonderful Dolphins that congregate in the bay close to Gibraltar, like the shopkeepers of Main Street they eagerly wait your arrival. For a lot less dosh the Dolphins will leave you with some very enjoyable memories of your visit to the Rock.
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