July 15, 2024: Even if you haven’t visited Gibraltar before, you probably recognize its famous rock formation from the iconic logo of Prudential Financial. Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered to the north by Spain and overlooks the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. It is tiny but strategically important. Due to the Red Sea conflict, a significant number of commercial vessels are now passing through the area.

Our shore excursion took us via the cable car to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, home to the famous Barbary macaques—the only wild monkey population in Europe. The reserve has a narrow road along the ridge. While the road is one-way for taxis, people and monkeys can freely wander.

It is the Monkey’s kingdom. Monkeys jumped on the car or stole someone’s bread or ice cream. We were both nervous and excited to see so many monkeys and their babies.

We also visited a huge cave. The 5-minute film shown on the rock wall was unique and beautiful. Then, we toured the Great Siege Tunnels, created during the 18th century inside the north face of the Rock. Gibraltar now has a total of 30 miles of tunnels, longer than its roads.

The visit to Gibraltar was the best so far, but we are very excited about tomorrow’s port of call.

2024年7月15日：即使你从未去过直布罗陀（Gibraltar），你可能也会从保德信金融（Prudential Financial)的标志中认出那著名的岩石形状。直布罗陀是一个位于伊比利亚半岛南端的英国海外领地。它北接西班牙，在连接大西洋和地中海的直布罗陀海峡的南面就是非洲, 海峡最窄处仅有八英里。尽管面积非常小，但它具有极其重要的战略意义。由于红海上冲突，如今有大量商船通过直布罗陀海峡。

今天我们还是参加船上组织的岸上游。先是通过缆车带我们来到了上岩自然保护区，这是著名的巴巴里猕猴的家园——欧洲唯一的野生猴群。保护区有一条沿山脊的狭窄道路。虽然这条路是单行道，仅供出租车通行，但行人和猴子可以自由穿行。看到这么多猴子和它们的小宝宝，我们既紧张又兴奋。我们的导游一再强调千万不要投喂猴子，且必须看好自己的包包。猴子们会跳上车子找东西，我们眼看着它们抢走行人手中的食物。

山里还有一个巨大的岩洞，里面定时放映5分钟关于岩洞的影片，直接用洞壁作屏幕，360度全景，非常独特。随后，我们游览了18世纪在岩石北面挖掘的“大围攻隧道”。直布罗陀现在有总长30英里的隧道，比其道路还长。

这次直布罗陀之行是迄今为止最棒的岸上游。但我们对明天的停靠港也非常期待。