Our visit to "The Rock" was one of the highlights of our trip. We sailed through the straits on our way down to Morocco and then came to Gibraltar. The Rock is certainly amazing. We were disappointed to not see the famous silhouette from the Prudential logo. It was later that we learned the profile used for Prudential is taken from the Spanish border side and not from the water.

Gibraltar is located on a peninsula with the isthmus being their border with Spain. Ancient fortifications protected Gibraltar from invasion by sea and from land to the north. In the late 18^th century tunnels were carved into The Rock. The original plan was to carve a long tunnel to a natural protrusion in The Rock and excavate an area for cannons to fire upon Spain. It was only when the workers became overcome with dust from the excavations that they decided to excavate multiple emplacements for the guns to protect the north face of The Rock from enemies.

We walked through those Great Siege Tunnels. The emplacements provided an excellent vantage point of the RAF base and the airport. The Gibraltar airport is a single runway that is crossed by the main road heading to the border with Spain. The road has to be closed during take-offs and landing.

The Barbary Apes who live on The Rock are native of Morocco and the only monkeys living in Europe. We were warned to watch our sunglasses, cameras and caps.

Looking over the Straits of Gibraltar to the African coast.

Back to Home Page