My Trip to Gibraltar

     On my second day in Cadiz, I signed up for a Semester at Sea field program called Gibraltar: A Day on the Rock. We left our ship around 8:30 in the morning to make our way to Gibraltar. It was around a two to two and a half hour venture. On our way there, our tour guide, Carmen, told us about many aspects of Spain. She taught us about the seven different varieties of wine that are made in the region of Spain that we were in. She also told us about Gibraltar’s tax system, which was very interesting.

     Once we got to Gibraltar, we had to walk through customs and show them our Passports because Gibraltar is a territory of England, which meant that we were leaving the country of Spain. Once we crossed the border, we walked to a gas station where we met our buses. We looked up at the rock from there to the cannon holes, which we were told we would be in later on. It was very cool.

      Once in the buses, we rode across the airfield, and drove up the rock. We went to the World War II tunnels. The amount of tunnels that we walked through was only one percent of the total amount of tunnels that run through the rock; this was mind-blowing. As we walked through the tunnels, we learned all about life in the rock during WWII. We learned a great deal about the construction of the tunnels as well. Upon the exit of one of the WWII tunnels, we saw four cannons.
This is a photograph of one of the four cannons remaining of its kind and caliber. All four are on the Rock of Gibraltar. They were transferred from their naval ships to the Rock in 1952. It cost 7.6 million pounds for each cannon to be moved. Cannon one was fired May 10th, 1954 and May 11, 1954 in a ceremony for the Queen’s arrival and departure into Gibraltar. They were decommissioned in 1957.

 
After we walked through a portion of the tunnels, we walked farther up the rock to go to the tunnel that leads to the spot that we looked at from the gas station. Before we entered the tunnel, we were greeted by the native monkeys! All of the monkeys on the Rock originate in Africa. Historians believe that sailors brought them over to the Rock to live off of the Rock's limited vegetations, because goats could not do so. Over time, the military believed that the monkeys were their luck. As long as the monkeys were on the Rock, they would not lose possession of it. Therefore, the monkeys remained undisturbed even during bperiod of starvation. Today, the monkeys are cataloged and named after British politicians and royalty. It was very amazing to look down at where we once stood! We were told the story of that tunnel’s construction as we climbed through.

      Finally, we walked inside a cave that was full of stalactites and stalagmites. They were created over 100 million years ago, all from dripping water! That cave was once used as a hospital during WWII, and is now the place of many festivities. "This stalagmite became too heavy on one side and fell, possibly thousands of years ago. It now lies on its side, cemented through the years by nature to the floor of the cave. In 1972 a slice 18 inches thick (45 cm) was cut from the top end. What remains is the cross-section that reveals the interior structure of the stalagmite in the most dramatic way. Within a diameter of approximately 4 foot 6 inches (1.35 m) can be seen the history of the growth. During period of excessive rain its growth is clearly indicated by lightbrown rings and patches. The darker areas were formed during period of less rain. But perhaps the two thin lines of a crumbly white substance are the most interesting of this stalagmite. These lines are believed to represent the glacial periods. Besides the cross-section the stalagmite is also translucent in certain parts."