Log Entry: August 6
        
         We rented a motorcycle and toured the 2.5 square miles of Gibraltar.  We also
        made several trips to Spain... one day we went across the border 6 times!  We are
        getting things done, but slowly ... and every few days we have to clean off the dust,
        Sahara sand, from Africa from our decks!!
         I have ridden around, up and through the "Rock" on a motorcycle and a bus. It
        is neat! We took a "Rock" tour yesterday. The Rock certainly has a bit of history
        associated with it dating back to early AD's. The most recent work, 35 miles of
        roads/buildings and facilities, circa WWI & WWII, etc. are military secrets, but we
        can certainly imagine from the areas we were allowed to see. The views from 1500
        feet, the top, are good but it is usually very hazy and there is an underground
        limestone cave at about 1000 ft. above sea level that is really magnificent. This  is
        called St. Michael's Cave. It has many tunnels and even a stage where they hold
        concerts because of the acoustics!! 
         It is said that submarines can surface inside the Rock.  The facilities (hospital,
        etc.) inside are self- supporting and there is more surface area inside the Rock than
        the visible area of Gibraltar. The modern water system for Gibraltar still uses
        thirteen large reservoirs inside  the rock that were used long ago to hold water
        caught on the slopes. A whole new area along the waterfront has been developed
        in the last twelve years by fill and engineering and there is a great deal of
        construction still going on. 
         We also had fun watching the Barbary Apes as we took our tour.  These tailless
        apes were first introduced by the British during the 18th century.  They say as long
        as the Apes live here, the British will rule Gibraltar.
         The marinas here are very good and reasonably priced, but the labor rates do
        contend with the US. We are not used to those kinds of costs! I certainly expect
        we'll see the same through most of the Med. We hope to get to Turkey before we
        come home for the holidays. Next year we plan to do a slower trip back through
        Greece, Italy, France and Spain.
              The winds around the Straights of Gibraltar build almost every day to 30 + kts 
        and frequently higher. Everybody watches the weather closely before they transit
        across the Straights in either direction.  There is also a significant current into the
        Med.  This is due to the fact that the Atlantic supplies all the water for the Med and
        there is a large amount of evaporation that occurs because of the temperature. The
        tide does mitigate or add to the current a bit so the tide tables are almost as
        important as the weather forecasts.           
                The world is an incredible place!