Gibraltar 3 - Caves
Innamorata
Steve & Carol
Tue 15 Mar 2022 10:33
Lucy and Simon arrived in Gibraltar in early March and we went for a couple of walks up the rock with them - firstly we went to St Michaels Caves and chose a different route up the rock via Jews Gate and the pillars of Hercules monument - the Romans christened Gibraltar “Mons Calpe" one of the Pillars of Hercules and the other “Mons Abylain" in North Africa, from the monument to the Pillars you get a great view of the straights of Gibraltar and the mountains of North Africa. From here we walked up to the Caves, of course there were a few monkeys hanging out especially near the caves.    The caves are spectacular - they are naturally formed and full of giant stalagmites and stalactites, during WWII it was prepared as a giant hospital but never used as such! since the 1960s the cave has been used as a theatre and can sit 600 people, there is a continuous loop lift and sound show runs which highlights the structures. It was an amazing experience and after walking around the Cave we sat down in the theatre take in the show!        This is a cross section of a stalagmite showing all the layers. The show is fantastic and photos don’t do it justice at all, the walls come alive and a real must see if you ever visit Gibraltar.       We spent about half an hour in the Caves before heading back down to the boats via the suspension bridge and more monkeys - some were climbing and playing on the the cable car pylons.          |