Gibraltar

It was a quick passage from the Spanish Balearic islands to Gibraltar, running before a stiff southeast breeze, close along the rugged Spanish mainland. As we approached the Gibraltar Straits, currents were swift, and a cloud hovered over the great rock of Gibraltar. Hectic activity surrounded the rock: Police escorts, Navy patrols, curious bystanders, and fishermen. Just days before, a collision had occurred between a tanker and a merchant ship during foggy conditions. We approached close-by, and were escorted away from the scene by a Navy Patrol vessel.

The Straits are famous for drug-running, smuggled from the Moroccan coast. Tiny jet-skis run during dark stormy, moonless nights, in order to evade reflection off their rooster-tails of spray. Many never make it. We could see the African peaks in the near distance, as the Straits are only eight miles wide. From the Spanish coast, cigarettes are smuggled over the border. It wasn't considered usual to see a skiff pull onto the Spanish beach – where we were anchored – to unload smuggled cargo, much like their pirating ancestors before them.

Gibraltar is a British dependency. An unsuccessful siege by the Spanish and French during the American War of Independence lasted three years, and ended with the British destroying the Spanish and French floating batteries. A peace agreement ensued, and Gibraltar was named as a crown colony.

Rising abruptly from the sea at the tip end of the Spanish Iberian Peninsula, the Rock of Gibraltar climbs to 1400’ elevation, and commands the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. At the base of the rock, sets Gibraltar: a country of a mere 2.5 square miles.

I caught the double-decker infamous red bus into the town center to collect well-needed groceries. Merchants stood outside their shops chatting with friends, a mime (a lifeless statue of the Pope) drew my amazed attention, and a schoolteacher on break walked me through the maze of alleyways to Safeway for incredible provisioning. It felt like I'd dropped in on home, as it'd been a year since we visited an English speaking country.

Ascending 1400' by flagstone steps to the British old fort is an adventure in itself, a way to peek into the lives of British residents. Ancient doorways were festooned with climbing creeper, scarlet phone-booths nestled into tiny corners, and the locals walked everywhere they went: no room for cars in this tiny country! After an hour's climb, I arrived at the summit that opened onto a scenic panorama of the city, and the Straits of Gibraltar, glistening with turquoise waters as clear as cellophane. Ships looked like they were suspended in liquid air, and were as still as torpedoes while awaiting berthing or transit.

Adam had climbed the summit with friends months before, following his transit of the Atlantic ocean as 1st Mate on "Asulana". The famous Rock of Gibraltar commands the entrance into the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. At the top resides Europe’s only wild ape: the Barbary monkey.

Goverment House is adorned by a vast park where the locals gather most evenings to visit and share gossip. A restored building, it houses the Seat of Goverment.

Pete and I walked over to a sport playing field, following the lure of the cheers from a crowd. In stark white attire, teams used a bat and ball for play, all new to us.

Cricket is a popular team sport found in many European countries (over 120 countries worldwide). It is a high-scoring outdoor bat-and-ball game played between teams of 11 players, and originated in England over 500 years ago. Only soccer and basketball exceed in popularity over cricket. The game has been played in the United States since the early 18th century.