Page 57 - RADC Bulletin 2019

me was seeing the nuclear reactor and the torpedoes.
The weather was nice to me during my stay, and even though it was the beginning of January it didn’t rain once. There were a few cloudy and windy days but it was mostly sunny, which meant I got the opportunity to go exploring. LDN Cheetham wanted my stay over there to be fun filled and packed with adventure. As we all know, Wednesday is sports afternoon in the Military but not many of us get to go. However, Commander Dean was into sailing so he would go on
a Wednesday afternoon, which meant
we could go climb up the famous Rock, which was a real good lung buster. It was
a glorious day to climb up the rock with the sun scorching down. The journey to the top of the Rock rewards you with a truly breath taking view. From a height of 426m you will see the African coastline, Spain’s Costa
del Sol and a panoramic view of the city down below including the quays, marinas and bays. The most important attraction
on the Rock was of course the cheeky monkeys. The monkeys are called Barbary Macaques and are hard to avoid when you visit the Rock. They are originally from the Atlas Mountains and the Rif mountains of Morocco.
A real treat to the eyes was visiting St Michael’s Cave. It is a true natural wonder and is worth a visit. Although it only takes 20 minutes or so to walk through the cave complex you could spend much longer to look at all the different sections in detail. A
light display continually changes the colours in the main hall area, this made looking at the cave extra magical.
There are other points of interest explaining the history of the Rock and how Gibraltar was captured by the British Fleet in 1704 during the war of the Spanish Succession. Here is a brief history about the war. On 4th August 1704, an Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral George Rooke took Gibraltar from the Spanish. In 1779, what became known as the Great Siege began and the numerous tunnels that are a feature of the Rock are a legacy from this time. A large British naval base was constructed there at great expense at the end of the 19th century and became the backbone of Gibraltar’s economy. British control of Gibraltar enabled the Allies to control the entrance to the Mediterranean during the Second World War.
Over a weekend I was able to take full advantage of Commander Dean’s car
that he kindly lent me. It was time to see what Spain had to offer. LDN Cheetham and I planned out the route that we would follow around the Spanish coast, taking
us through the border and onto Cadiz. On route to Cadiz we drove past Tarifa which
is known for its water sports and you could see the kite surfers on full show. Eventually reaching the town of Cadiz we decided to get a quick coffee and watch the sunset.
As the sun went down the city turned all magical, with pretty lights that lit up the bridge on the way to Santa Maria. After a long evening of driving we decided to hit the bars and relax. We ended up in a good old Irish pub. Saturday morning came around quickly which meant moving on towards our next destination, Seville. It was a full day of exploring this iconic city and the culture of
the place and the surroundings made it one of my favourite places in Spain. No rest for the wicked, next stop Ronda. This being our next stop to rest our heads and fair to say we were absolutely knackered after Seville, but in true military style we kept on going. Ronda is a mountain top city in Spain’s Malaga province that’s set dramatically above a deep gorge. Here we walked the cobbled streets taking in the scenery, ate tapas and found a little bakery which offered some of the most delicious delights. Bellies full we headed off into the direction of Malaga. It was a glorious sunny day and we decided to chill at the port. It was just nice to sit back and watch the world go by with a sangria and reminisce about our little road trip around Spain. It is fair to say I made the most of my weekend.
Reflecting on my time in Gibraltar, I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing opportunity to go and work overseas and to work alongside a Royal Navy team at the Princess Royal Dental Centre. I would highly recommend putting your name forward for trawls if it is adventure that you seek.
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