Gibraltar is home to some of the earliest Neanderthal fossils ever found (Forbes’ Quarry in 1848 and later discoveries in Gorham’s Cave). The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans were aware of Gibraltar. The Phoenicians considered the Rock one of the Pillars of Hercules, marking the edge of the known world. Muslim forces led by Tariq ibn Ziyad landed at Gibraltar during the initial invasion of Spain. The name “Gibraltar” derives from Jabal Tariq (Mount of Tariq). The Moors built a fortress, part of which (the Moorish Castle) still stands today. The territory remained under Muslim control, with a few interruptions, until the Christians recaptured it in 1462 during the Reconquista. Gibraltar became part of the Kingdom of Castile and was fortified further. It was considered strategically vital and changed hands among Spanish nobles and monarchs over the years. During the War of the Spanish Succession, an Anglo-Dutch fleet captured Gibraltar from Spain. mUnder the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity. Since then, Gibraltar has remained a British Overseas Territory, despite several Spanish attempts to retake it (notably during the Great Siege of 1779–83). Gibraltar served as a crucial naval base for the Allies. The civilian population was largely evacuated. In 1967 and 2002 referendums, the people of Gibraltar overwhelmingly rejected any proposal of shared sovereignty with Spain. In 2006 the constitution granted Gibraltar a modernized self-governing constitution, though Britain retains responsibility for defense and foreign affairs. The Brexit created new complexities in Gibraltar–EU–UK relations, especially regarding the border with Spain. Today Gibraltar remains a strategically significant and politically sensitive area. It has a thriving economy based on finance, tourism, shipping, and online gaming. It is home to around 30,000 people, many of whom are bilingual in English and Spanish. 

Nana and Papa has been here many times and we decided to not take an excursion. This approach has caused some challenges with Papa and Nana. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Nana is more of a person that is very flexible and loves to change her mind. Papa likes to plan and wants to stick to a schedule and likes to know what is happening.  So Papa loves excursions because they are planned and fixed. Nana prefers to just go out and see what happens.  So part of being married is to do both. Today was Nana’s day.  Some days we can do both and other days are what Papa likes.  That is what marriage is all about. 

So we tried to take a hop on hop off bus today. It wasn’t quite what we expected. Some poor planning on our part and a bad job by the bus company. We boarded the bus and no dialogue. We decided to take the bus in a loop, and after about 5 stops our bus driver said we needed to get off as it was the end.  No explanation about connections or other buses. 

So we decided to take in stride and started exploring. We found a fabulous cemetery with a lot of history, called Trafalgar Cemetary. Trafalgar Cemetery has connections to the Battle of Trafalgar.

We then walked down Main street which has many stores, cafes, and other interesting structures on the street.  We found a church a Nana just loves churches. A funeral was just finishing but we got to go inside and marvel at its features. We also found a bike that we would love to take aboard with us on the ship.

We found an Irish pub where Nana was able to get her Guinness on draft.  It was a long walk back to the ship but we explored parts of the city that we have never been to before.  On our next visit, Papa wants to take the cable car up to the top of the rock and explore up there and then walk down the mountain.

Tomorrow is another port day and we will be in Cartagena, Spain.  We have been here once before a long time ago but we don’t remember what we did when we were here.