Gibraltar is More Than a Rock

31 July 2026 – Gibraltar 

 

Gibraltar is officially English, though it’s located on the southern coast of Spain.  Weird, right?  Apparently Spain officially ceded Gibraltar to Great Britain in 1713, as part of one of those treaties during their eternal wars and hostilities. 

There are all sorts of tunnels that were part of the defensive military strategy, as well as the dramatic rock formation itself.  And a huge cave, which was once believed to endless – that’s how huge it is! 

Gibraltar is also one of the few places in Europe with apes (tailless monkeys are officially apes) – though they aren’t indigenous, and were brought from North Africa centuries ago.

J signed up for a strenuous hike to the uppermost point on The Rock, as it’s affectionately called.  Her photos show the cave as well as all the views from the top of the rock.  She saw some of the Barbary apes, but they didn't stay still enough for photos.

I had planned to walk around the lower town, shop, explore.  But somewhere during the previous day or two, I sort of twisted my ankle.  Not bad enough to remember it nor to do anything about it.  But enough that my ankle swelled up and hurt to walk around much.  So I opted to stay on the ship and baby the ankle, trying to keep it elevated.

However, staying in one place with a foot propped up is boring – I eventually went up to the Lido Deck (Deck 9, and where the buffet is held).  I went between meals, and found a quiet table off to one side.  It was a foggy morning, so the peninsula that is Gibraltar was shadowed and dark, wreathed in tendrils of mist and fog.    Made for a moody and interesting task, trying to capture the city growing up the sheer cliffs!  Eventually the sun broke through the fog and changed the entire landscape.  Oh well, my sketch shows some of the fog rolling over the mountain.  Although sometimes it looks like fog to me, and at other times it looks more like something shiny reflecting the sun.  Not my best work, but hey, sketchbooks are meant to capture a moment in time, a scene, an impression – and it does that, so I’m okay with my confused fog. 

Just to give credit, all the photos except my painting are by my sister-in-law J.