Gibraltar, United Kingdom: Just Got Back

[CaribbeanBound]

Gibraltar, United Kingdom

Gibraltar is a small British territory off Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast just 2.6 square miles in size. It's the only port where the British Pound was the currency of choice. It's a heavily fortified British air and naval base that guards the Strait of Gibraltar (the only entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean). The Rock of Gibraltar is made of limestone and shale and is the focal point of the peninsula.

 

Not really sure what was going on in this port. All signs pointed to the port being over-booked. Our original schedule was cut back by 5 hours (thankfully we got a couple months advance notice) and we saw other ships waiting in the harbor for an opportunity to berth (including the Celebrity Constellation which we passed on our way out. At one time they were scheduled to dock at 9:00 am).

 

There is a lot of cool things to see in Gibraltar. With our abbreviated stay, we thought it best to take a private tour that would shepherd us to all the major sights while allowing us the some flexibility at each stop. We joined the "Intermediate Tour" booked arranged by a fellow cruise critic member through Gibraltar Inside Out Rock Tours (£55 pp, plus tip, for a group of 8, which included all admission fees).

 

The tour takes approximately 3.5 hours and consists of 7 stops which include: 100 Ton Gun, Europa Point, The Pillars of Hercules, St Michael's Cave, Top of The Rock, Upper Apes Den, the Great Siege tunnels, Europa Point, and The Moorish Castle. We also saw the continent of Africa from several viewpoints, drove through the old town and over the airport runway towards the Spanish border.

 

Our first stop was St Michael's Cave inside the Rock of Gibraltar. Upon arrival we found ourselves in The Cathedral Cave, a very large cavity with great acoustics (it's even used as a concert hall) and beautiful stalactites and stalagmites highlighted by green, blue, and purple spotlights. There are several staired pathways that allow you to venture deeper. They all work their way back to the Cathedral.

 

From here we headed up The Rock to visit the "Rock Apes" --- about 160 tailless Barbary macaques living on the rock. They are the only population of wild monkeys in Europe. The apes are really fun to watch. Lots of picture opportunities to be had with the apes and the views. We ascended the top and headed down.

 

The Great Siege tunnels were built inside The Rock in the late 18th Century to defend Gibraltar against the Spanish and French forces who were trying to recapture Gibraltar from the British. The tunnels include defensive gun emplacements, uniformed mannequin, dioramas, and window holes from which you can take great pictures. It's worth walking all the way through to the other end of the tunnel. Tunneling was expanded during the wars that followed. There are now 34 miles of tunnels, most of which are off-limits. It would have been cool to visit the World War II tunnels had we more time in Gibraltar.

 

There is a statue commemorating the Pillars of Hercules, the top two peaks on either side of the straight with The Rock being one of them. Jebel Musa in Morocco is thought to be the other. Beyond the pillars is the Atlantic Ocean. In antiquity, the pillars were the point of no return if you ventured beyond.

 

"The Moorish Castle" is really a complex with the "Tower of Homage" being its main feature. Rebuilt around 1333 AD, it's a great example of Islamic architecture. 30 minutes is plenty of time to explore the tower and climb to the top to take pictures. It's pretty steamy inside though and the passages leading downstairs were off-limits during our visit.

 

The 100 Ton Gun is one of two left in the world. (The other big gun is in Malta). Gibraltar's gun was never fired, and frankly it's not all that interesting. However, it does provide a good opportunity to visit the restroom here.

 

Europa Point and the historic 1841 Trinity House Lighthouse occupy the southernmost tip of the peninsula and offer views across the Straight of Gibraltar to Ceuta (a small independent Spanish enclave) and Morocco. Having never been to Africa, it was genuinely cool to see the Dark Continent on the other side of the Straight, less than 15 miles away. Had we been given an overnight stay in Gibraltar, I would have liked to take a day tour over to Morocco (less than 90-minutes by speedy ferry each way).

 

Europa Point is also home to the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque built in the mid-1990’s with money donated by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, as well as views of the backside of The Rock.

 

The Gibraltar Airport's terminal building is adjacent to Gibraltar's border with Spain. The easiest way to cross the border into Spain is on foot and supposedly takes less than two minutes assuming your passport is in order. (Taxi's are prohibited to cross). The ONLY road from the boarder (Winston Churchill Avenue) literally runs across the airport's runway and is closed temporarily anytime a plane arrives or departs. We drove across the runway to the boarder and back.

 

This was a really fun port that I wish had a longer stay. Back on the ship, around 3:45 pm, we spotted a large pod of dolphins off the starboard side jumping out of the water 2 and 3 at a time.

 

 

Complete detailed review of Celebrity Reflection and 8 Western Mediterranean Ports

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/western-mediterranean.html

 

Secrets of the Mediterranean: details, hints, and tips for over 20 Mediterranean Cities

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

[Alaskanb]

Thanks for the review. We will be there from noon to 10 pm so not sure how that will work out. Planning to take local bus to Europa Point and have a meal at the fairly new restaurant there.

[CaribbeanBound]

10 hours is lots of time. Have a great trip.

[ollienbertsmum]

Thanks for the review. We will be there from noon to 10 pm so not sure how that will work out. Planning to take local bus to Europa Point and have a meal at the fairly new restaurant there.

 

That restaurant is supposed to be very good. The whole area is/was lovely but there is a little bit of building going on. It is about 30 minutes walk from my house and I do enjoy the views from around there.

[ollienbertsmum]

Gibraltar, United Kingdom

Gibraltar is a small British territory off Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast just 2.6 square miles in size. It's the only port where the British Pound was the currency of choice. It's a heavily fortified British air and naval base that guards the Strait of Gibraltar (the only entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean). The Rock of Gibraltar is made of limestone and shale and is the focal point of the peninsula.

 

Not really sure what was going on in this port. All signs pointed to the port being over-booked. Our original schedule was cut back by 5 hours (thankfully we got a couple months advance notice) and we saw other ships waiting in the harbor for an opportunity to berth (including the Celebrity Constellation which we passed on our way out. At one time they were scheduled to dock at 9:00 am).

 

There is a lot of cool things to see in Gibraltar. With our abbreviated stay, we thought it best to take a private tour that would shepherd us to all the major sights while allowing us the some flexibility at each stop. We joined the "Intermediate Tour" booked arranged by a fellow cruise critic member through Gibraltar Inside Out Rock Tours (£55 pp, plus tip, for a group of 8, which included all admission fees).

 

The tour takes approximately 3.5 hours and consists of 7 stops which include: 100 Ton Gun, Europa Point, The Pillars of Hercules, St Michael's Cave, Top of The Rock, Upper Apes Den, the Great Siege tunnels, Europa Point, and The Moorish Castle. We also saw the continent of Africa from several viewpoints, drove through the old town and over the airport runway towards the Spanish border.

 

Our first stop was St Michael's Cave inside the Rock of Gibraltar. Upon arrival we found ourselves in The Cathedral Cave, a very large cavity with great acoustics (it's even used as a concert hall) and beautiful stalactites and stalagmites highlighted by green, blue, and purple spotlights. There are several staired pathways that allow you to venture deeper. They all work their way back to the Cathedral.

 

From here we headed up The Rock to visit the "Rock Apes" --- about 160 tailless Barbary macaques living on the rock. They are the only population of wild monkeys in Europe. The apes are really fun to watch. Lots of picture opportunities to be had with the apes and the views. We ascended the top and headed down.

 

The Great Siege tunnels were built inside The Rock in the late 18th Century to defend Gibraltar against the Spanish and French forces who were trying to recapture Gibraltar from the British. The tunnels include defensive gun emplacements, uniformed mannequin, dioramas, and window holes from which you can take great pictures. It's worth walking all the way through to the other end of the tunnel. Tunneling was expanded during the wars that followed. There are now 34 miles of tunnels, most of which are off-limits. It would have been cool to visit the World War II tunnels had we more time in Gibraltar.

 

There is a statue commemorating the Pillars of Hercules, the top two peaks on either side of the straight with The Rock being one of them. Jebel Musa in Morocco is thought to be the other. Beyond the pillars is the Atlantic Ocean. In antiquity, the pillars were the point of no return if you ventured beyond.

 

"The Moorish Castle" is really a complex with the "Tower of Homage" being its main feature. Rebuilt around 1333 AD, it's a great example of Islamic architecture. 30 minutes is plenty of time to explore the tower and climb to the top to take pictures. It's pretty steamy inside though and the passages leading downstairs were off-limits during our visit.

 

The 100 Ton Gun is one of two left in the world. (The other big gun is in Malta). Gibraltar's gun was never fired, and frankly it's not all that interesting. However, it does provide a good opportunity to visit the restroom here.

 

Europa Point and the historic 1841 Trinity House Lighthouse occupy the southernmost tip of the peninsula and offer views across the Straight of Gibraltar to Ceuta (a small independent Spanish enclave) and Morocco. Having never been to Africa, it was genuinely cool to see the Dark Continent on the other side of the Straight, less than 15 miles away. Had we been given an overnight stay in Gibraltar, I would have liked to take a day tour over to Morocco (less than 90-minutes by speedy ferry each way).

 

Europa Point is also home to the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque built in the mid-1990’s with money donated by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, as well as views of the backside of The Rock.

 

The Gibraltar Airport's terminal building is adjacent to Gibraltar's border with Spain. The easiest way to cross the border into Spain is on foot and supposedly takes less than two minutes assuming your passport is in order. (Taxi's are prohibited to cross). The ONLY road from the boarder (Winston Churchill Avenue) literally runs across the airport's runway and is closed temporarily anytime a plane arrives or departs. We drove across the runway to the boarder and back.

 

This was a really fun port that I wish had a longer stay. Back on the ship, around 3:45 pm, we spotted a large pod of dolphins off the starboard side jumping out of the water 2 and 3 at a time.

 

 

Complete detailed review of Celebrity Reflection and 8 Western Mediterranean Ports

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/western-mediterranean.html

 

Secrets of the Mediterranean: details, hints, and tips for over 20 Mediterranean Cities

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

 

Gosh you really have described my adopted homeland well. Your taxi driver gave you an excellent tour. I am glad you enjoyed it.

[Alaskanb]

That restaurant is supposed to be very good. The whole area is/was lovely but there is a little bit of building going on. It is about 30 minutes walk from my house and I do enjoy the views from around there.

Thanks. I think we will enjoy having a lazy day. We will be there in early November 2019.