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.
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.
We visited the countryside today and ended up in Glen Coe. It is located in the Highlands of Scotland. It was formed from volcanos, then shaped by glaciers during the ice age. Glen Coe is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hikers and mountain climbers. We learned that in 1692, in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1689, an incident known as the Massacre of Glencoe took place in the glen. Thirty-eight men, women and children from Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were slaughtered by government forces on the grounds that they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the King William. After visiting Glen Coe, we decided to track down some castles. Castle Dunstaffnage Monty Python and the Holy Grail was shot at this castle (Castle Stalker) and made an appearance as Castle of Aaaaarrrrrggghhh! Castle Barcaldine The roads can be quite narrow when looking for castles. This guy was nice enough to back up till he found a pull off.
Nice sunny day, but still a little cool. Today we visited " Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia", also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia. It is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy. She was in service from 1954 until 1997. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the world to more than 600 ports in 135 countries. Now retired from royal service, Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh. It was kinda unusual locating the tour. You entered the yacht from the second floor of a shopping mall. The yacht looks like a small cruise ship. It is 412 ft long and has the capacity to hold 250 guests, 21 officers, and 250 Royal Yachtsmen. U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton were all guests on the yacht. HMY Britannia The bridge. The map room Storing various signal flags Land Rover for the K...
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