The city of Gibraltar isn't very big (population 30,000) but it's somewhat difficult to explore, with its ugly casement walls slicing the narrow strip of land below the Rock. Lots of high-rise apartment complexes are everywhere. It's not a very appealing place. Yet the majority of the populace wants to remain under UK control, despite Spanish interest in taking it over. In fact, there's a tense situation here right now, causing long delays for vehicles crossing the border due to Spanish protests. Union Jacks are flying from apartment balconies, demonstrating local support of continued UK control.

We did some grocery shopping at the large Morrison's supermarket--great if you're Brit and can't live without Marmite or Golden Syrup, but otherwise unremarkable--and ordered a spare part for our centerboard hydraulic pump at one of the two chandleries. We walked and walked and walked all over, and window-shopped along bustling Main Street, filled with cruise ship tourists.

During our four days in Gib we had a US-quality pizza at Pizza Hut, tasty Indian food at Raj's Curry House (right outside the QQ marina), but mediocre fish 'n' chips at Lord Nelson's on Casemate (having been told they had won a prize for best fish and chips in Gibraltar!).

As we rounded the Rock of Gibraltar, we radioed Queensbay Quay Marina and--what luck!--there was a berth available for us! The marina is chock full this time of year and most everyone we know has been turned away, so we were delighted. The advantage of QQ is its prime location for sightseeing in Gib. We made friends that evening over beer with Alan aboard sv Ticketeeboo, with whom we have several mutual friends who wintered in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily.

Next day we rode up the cable car and then spent several hours seeing the sights on the long walk down. The famous barbary monkeys were everywhere, and seemed to delight in posing for photos. The younger ones scampered about, making me nervous as they chased one another right on the edge of the wall, with a long drop down should they lose their footing. But I'll be they never do. CLICK FOR MONKEY PHOTOS

A couple of the many facts we gleaned as we toured the extensive tunnel system and cave: There are 30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock, built for strategic purposes over several centuries and not completed till 1968. Next door neighbor La Linea, Spain, got its name due to being the line (linea) beyond which the 18th century cannon balls couldn't reach. Today the Gibraltar airport runway straddles the border, and cars and people scurry across between plane landings and take-offs.

During WW II, Franco of Spain, although allied with the Nazis, prevented Germany from taking over Gibraltar from the Brits, a decision that strengthened the Allied Forces' control of the Mediterranean. When America joined the war, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was stationed inside the Rock, from where he planned the crucial invasion of North Africa. Gibraltar was of major importance to the outcome of the war.

We also visited a large, beautiful but very wet cave with stalagmites and stalactites inside the Rock, used as a hospital during the War and as a concert hall today, with amazing acoustics (see photos). We wonder how the surgeons then, and musicians now, liked the steady drip, drip on their instruments, not to mention the patients and audiences.
CLICK FOR GIB PHOTOS

Photo: Land Ho! The Rock of Gibraltar!

I'm writing this on my laptop while keeping watch in the cockpit on a hazy, windless, yet surprisingly cool day. Burger is below taking a nap. We left Benalmadena early this morning and are now weaving our way through a fleet of fishing boats and freighters at anchor along the coast.

By this afternoon we shall have reached British-governed Gibraltar. Of all times to visit "Gib," there's a political dispute going on right now between Spain and the UK. Just last week Spanish fishermen evicted pleasure boats from the La Linea anchorage, right next to the border with Gibraltar. A nuclear submarine surfaced in the Strait the other day, and a British warship is paying a visit tomorrow, ostensibly to make a show of British sovereignity.

Politics are shaping cruiser plans more and more these days. Hopefully no anti-American sentiment will arise in Morocco, our next destination, in light of the Syrian crisis. Musings while we sail along ...

Land Ho!