Gibraltar

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Gibraltar is an unusual place - with indigenous population from all over the place. English and Spanish are spoken here so M was in her element. Walked up Main Street and spent some money in Marks and Sparks. Then, after negotiating with a few taxi drivers, took a tour to the top of the rock where we saw the Macaques (monkeys). These are the only wild apes found in Europe and are very mischievous - "hold on to everything - bottles of water, handbags, cameras" warned our taxi driver. Next stop on our tour was St Michael's Cave which is so large it has a concert hall inside it. This cave has two parts, Lower St Michael's Cave and New St Michael's Cave which was only accidentally discovered as recently as the Second World War; when the Royal Engineers were trying to create an alternative entrance to Lower St Michael's Cave which was being used as an emergency hospital. The cave's chambers include examples of almost all known cave formations, including a lake nearly 37 metres long containing an estimated 200,000 litres of crystal-clear water .

After the cave we visited the Siege Tunnels. The Great Siege Tunnels of Gibraltar, also known as the Upper Galleries are a series of tunnels inside the northern end of the Rock of Gibraltar. They were dug out from the solid limestone by the British, during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. This siege took place at the end of the 18th century, during the American Revolutionary War; when the French and Spanish tried (and failed) to take Gibraltar back from Britain.

We then went to see the Moorish Castle. This is a medieval fortification comprising various buildings, gates, and fortified walls, with the dominant features being the Tower of Homage and the Gate House. Part of the castle itself also housed the prison of Gibraltar until it was relocated in 2010. The Tower of Homage is clearly visible to all visitors to Gibraltar; not only because of its striking construction, but also because of its dominant and strategic position.

Sightseeing over, we went to Morrisons (yes Morrisons!) and stocked up on Gin, Tonic and wine!! (Got to get your priorities right)!

Having been on board for 3 days, we feel we have been very lucky and ended up with a super table, so initial concerns unfounded - but M is certainly in the youngest 5%! One of the photos is of our table. From back to front Stuart and Pam, M and D, Donald and Jackie (still not sure how to spell it), Margaret and David.

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