Gibraltar Adventures

Gibraltar has been british for more than three hundred years. gibraltar is One of the pillars of hercules at the very beginning of the mediterranean sea. The Rock sticks out from the southern tip of spain like a sentinel. It takes its name from Arabic and the Moors first invaded here until it was recaptured. Spain ceded the Rock Gibralar to Britain in the 1800's and has regretted it ever since. It remains one of the last outposts of the british empire. Gradually it has changed from a military base to a civilian center. Gibraltar used to be a huge naval base but it has been scaled down a lot. The British use it as a staging point for operations into the mediterranean. The straits are only 13 kilometers at the entrance to the mediterranean.

Gibraltar is a very small place and lots of people have to fit in here as well as the tourists. Tax free shopping keep the merchants in the money. Cigars are a lot cheaper in Gibraltar for example. Shopping is for tourists and the main industry is finance. It is an innovative financial center with its own taxes and its own regulatory system. Those of British descent are only a small percentage of the population. There is a wide variety of nationalities that live in Gibraltar. Spanish and Maltese immigrants make up the bulk of the population of Gibraltar. In referendums the locals have voted overwhelmingly to stay with Britain. Franco closed the border, and planes that land in Gibraltar are not allowed to fly over Spanish air space.

The big warships have been replaced by cruise ships and pleasure liners. The Queen Mary II arrives regularly at Gibraltar as well as many other luxurious cruise ships. At the mouth of the Atlantic there are good catches of grey mackerel. The people of Gibraltar do not consider themselves British or Spanish but as Gibraltar residents. You have to be easy going and friendly in Gibraltar to survive because Gibraltar has so little space. Lots of people live in flats and houses and they are crowded. Gibraltar has a limited water supply and there is not much room for privacy. Getting a car means independance for young people so that they can go to Spain or do laps around the three kilometers of Gibraltar. There is not much room for playgrounds either.

The rock of Gibraltar is riddled with tunnels. The great siege tunnels were dug by hand and there are gun emplacements and cannonballs. Wind farms to generate electricity dot the hills. When it all gets too much they go to Spain for a bit of space and some decent food for a change. There is a lot of prejudice against the people of Gibraltar but the people of the rock do not want to be part of Spain. If you are young in Gibraltar it can be claustrophobic and everyone knows you and gossip about you all day. There is only 30,000 people in Gibraltar and not too many young people. Gibraltar does not seem to matter to the British and they are concerned that they will be handed to the Spanish. There are a lot of good things about British rule that the Gibraltarians like and it is safe for children, you know the people you are with and it is a small community so that people look after each other.

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