Gibraltar
Today we are leaving the Mediterranean Sea and entering the Atlantic Ocean. This morning we stopped at Gibraltar, the British possession at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. We toured the rock by minibus and at the southern end had a wonderful view of the mosque which reminds us of the 800 years of Moorish control of the Iberian peninsula. The brilliant white Jurassic limestone of the rock itself shines in the sun and marks the wonderful harbor which for centuries has provided safe haven for vessels traversing the Strait.
We spent some time with the famous Barbary Apes, Gibraltar macaques, probably originally brought over from Africa by the Moors. Legend has it that as long as the apes are in Gibraltar, Britain will hold the rock. Today the population of about 300 is healthy and, if something of a nuisance as thieves of anything which looks like food, they serve as the totem animals of Gibraltar.
We also visited the magnificent St. Michael’s Cave with its huge stalagmites and stalactites formed from the solution and re-deposition of the limestone.
In the afternoon we sailed out of the harbor and soon passed the southernmost point in Europe, Isla de Tarifa, with the great mass of Jebel Musa dominating the north coast of Morocco across the Strait.
The Strait of Gibraltar has been a strategic site for centuries and the rock still bristles with batteries and fortifications. Today it is also a critical location in the battle of the great tectonic plates of Africa and Europe as well as a critical crossing point for birds migrating between the two continents.
This was truly a most significant milestone in our voyage among the cultures, people and lands of the Mediterranean.
Today we are leaving the Mediterranean Sea and entering the Atlantic Ocean. This morning we stopped at Gibraltar, the British possession at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. We toured the rock by minibus and at the southern end had a wonderful view of the mosque which reminds us of the 800 years of Moorish control of the Iberian peninsula. The brilliant white Jurassic limestone of the rock itself shines in the sun and marks the wonderful harbor which for centuries has provided safe haven for vessels traversing the Strait.
We spent some time with the famous Barbary Apes, Gibraltar macaques, probably originally brought over from Africa by the Moors. Legend has it that as long as the apes are in Gibraltar, Britain will hold the rock. Today the population of about 300 is healthy and, if something of a nuisance as thieves of anything which looks like food, they serve as the totem animals of Gibraltar.
We also visited the magnificent St. Michael’s Cave with its huge stalagmites and stalactites formed from the solution and re-deposition of the limestone.
In the afternoon we sailed out of the harbor and soon passed the southernmost point in Europe, Isla de Tarifa, with the great mass of Jebel Musa dominating the north coast of Morocco across the Strait.
The Strait of Gibraltar has been a strategic site for centuries and the rock still bristles with batteries and fortifications. Today it is also a critical location in the battle of the great tectonic plates of Africa and Europe as well as a critical crossing point for birds migrating between the two continents.
This was truly a most significant milestone in our voyage among the cultures, people and lands of the Mediterranean.
