Tangier & Gibraltar
Early morning we left for a short but very interesting visit to the American Legation in Tangier, the only National Historic Landmark outside the United States. The warden gave us the briefing and it was interesting to learn that Morocco was in fact the first nation to recognize the new United States nation in 1777.
As we arrived back it was time to cast the lines and make our way into the Gibraltar Strait. This is one of the busiest ship lines in the world, a great place to enjoy the only daylight hours we have at sea on this voyage. Not only were ships passing through but we also were able to spot several groups of pilot whales, some just a few meters from the Endeavour. Also some interesting birds such as Shearwaters and Storm Petrels were recorded.
After lunch we traveled the short distance between Africa and Eurasia and made the interesting time switch: 1 o’clock became 3 o’clock. We arrived in Gibraltar, a strange British enclave in Spain, taken in 1704. Of course, Spain still holds Ceuta and Melilla, on the opposite side in Morocco. The Rock became an important British stronghold to control the Empire but today has lost all it strategic and military significance.
As you walk around the city you find an amazing blend of people from all around the world. The short bus tour took us to the top of the Rock to visit St. Michael’s cave. The whole Rock is made of limestone carved with caves, some of them were once important fortresses for the British. On top we found Barbary Apes: the only monkey to live in Europe, they were probably brought to Gibraltar by the Moors.
Early morning we left for a short but very interesting visit to the American Legation in Tangier, the only National Historic Landmark outside the United States. The warden gave us the briefing and it was interesting to learn that Morocco was in fact the first nation to recognize the new United States nation in 1777.
As we arrived back it was time to cast the lines and make our way into the Gibraltar Strait. This is one of the busiest ship lines in the world, a great place to enjoy the only daylight hours we have at sea on this voyage. Not only were ships passing through but we also were able to spot several groups of pilot whales, some just a few meters from the Endeavour. Also some interesting birds such as Shearwaters and Storm Petrels were recorded.
After lunch we traveled the short distance between Africa and Eurasia and made the interesting time switch: 1 o’clock became 3 o’clock. We arrived in Gibraltar, a strange British enclave in Spain, taken in 1704. Of course, Spain still holds Ceuta and Melilla, on the opposite side in Morocco. The Rock became an important British stronghold to control the Empire but today has lost all it strategic and military significance.
As you walk around the city you find an amazing blend of people from all around the world. The short bus tour took us to the top of the Rock to visit St. Michael’s cave. The whole Rock is made of limestone carved with caves, some of them were once important fortresses for the British. On top we found Barbary Apes: the only monkey to live in Europe, they were probably brought to Gibraltar by the Moors.
