Friday, June 9, 2006

What A Hunk Of Rock



When we saw this we recalled Ray Haddad´s famous line "What a hunk of rock!!!". The Rock of Gibraltar is a freak of nature! It measures 9 by 4 km at its base and rises to 426m (Centrepoint tower is 246m to its tip). The 30,000 strong city of Gibraltar sits at the base of the rock and there is even an airport in front of the rock, with space so tight that the road crosses the main runway and has to be closed 3-5 times a day when flights land or takeoff!!!

Gibraltar is a natural monument to many sieges and wars over the centuries. It was occupied by the Romans, Visigoths and Arabs. Gibraltar has been part of England since 1704. We got our passport stamped and everything is in Euro and Pounds Sterling. We arrived at 5.30pm after our Morocco adventure and were lucky enough to come across a local tour guide who gave us and another English family a private 1 hr tour of the rock. We exchanged peanuts with the many small chimp-like apes living on the rock and heard stories of General Nielsen, the Pillars of Hercules (photo) and the 52km of tunnel built throughout the rock interior in World War II by the British to house soldiers, amo and even a hospital. Gibraltar is also a very popular place for big tankers and freighters to refuel and repair before their big voyages in the world´s oceans - this is trully the Singapore of the Meditteranean!!! Distance travelled so far: 5,522km.

1 comment:

  1. I can just hear Ray saying it! Looks amazing.

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