Technically our TransAtlantic Cruise is over since we are now cruising in the Mediterranean Sea. Last night the cruise ship left Cadiz and traveled through the Strait of Gibraltar and has now docked in the city of Gibraltar. It is a small city with an area covering 2.6 sq mi and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area to over 32,000 people. The fact that surprised me was that the city is a British Territory.
We took a tour today that mostly concentrated on the Rock of Gibraltar. We drove to the top of the rock while making several stops along the way. Our guide drove a minivan and was very informative.
The rock is 1398 ft high.
A lighthouse on the Rock
Calcite, the mineral that makes up limestone, dissolves slowly in rainwater. Over time, this process can form caves. For this reason the Rock of Gibraltar contains over 100 caves. These pictures are from St. Michael's Cave.
Most of the Rock's upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 300 Barbary macaques.
The captain of this ship didn't listen to the port authority and ended up hitting another ship and sinking his. They had to pump all the oil out from his ship and they are planning to cut the ship into smaller pieces to remove it. Very costly accident and he is in jail.
There are a lot of ships in this area. If it was a clear day you would be able to see Africa on the other side of the Gibraltar Strait. The minimum width of the strait is 8 miles.
The James Bond film "The Living Daylights" was filmed on the Rock of Gibraltar. There is an actual British military base on the rock. In the film you can see how narrow the roads are and macaques running around.
We are starting our trip by boarding the Holland-America cruise ship Nieuw Statendam on Saturday, April 8, 2023. The ship was docked in Lauderdale, FL and we left the dock at 4:00 pm. Fourteen days later on April 22nd we will disembark in Barcelona, Spain. We are traveling with our friends Carmine and Holly Paolino. After spending some time in Spain, we will be flying to Scotland. We'll be driving around Scotland for a few weeks, then traveling by train to London. In London we will catch a plane back to Tampa Florida. We expect to be back in Dunedin Florida by May 10th. The Holland-America cruise ship Nieuw Statendam is not one of the larger cruise ships. It houses 2666 guests; is 975 ft in length and is 114.8 ft wide. There is an abundance of food and entertainment on the ship. I had mahi/mahi for dinner tonight, then played an exciting game of music trivia. There is something to entertain almost everyone. Everyth...
Well, we rented a car today and drove 90 miles from Glasgow to Oban. Oban is northwest of Glasgow and basically sits next to water from the North Atlantic Ocean. It was a very scenic drive as we drove next to Loch Lomond and through the Trossach National Park. RoxAnne volunteered to drive the car, which was quite a challenge. The driver sits on the right hand side of the car, they shift with their left arm (all cars have manual clutches), and they drive in the left lane of the road. Roundabouts are everywhere and you drive clockwise thru them, instead of counterclockwise as we do in the USA. We are staying at the Oyster Inn which is located right next to Loch Linnhe. We saw seals swimming in the water. The internet is not very good here at the inn, so not many pictures today.
St. Andrews has a lot of history, but many know it for its golf. We drove to St. Andrews today and hung out at "the Old Course". The Old Course at St Andrews is considered the oldest golf course in the world. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews. Originally known as the "golfing grounds" of St Andrews, it was not until the New Course was opened in 1895 that it became known as the Old Course. St Andrews Links are public golf courses and must share the tee times with members, residents and visitors alike. "The Old Course" The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews Shopping at The Old Course shop The following is a video of Robin Williams discussing the origin of golf (warning: contains strong language) Tonight we are staying at a Bed and Breakfast near Stirling, Scotland. It is an old farm house and the farm has horses and 3 dogs.
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