December 10, 2024

The (blank) of Gibraltar. Of course, everyone knows the answer. The Rock of Gibraltar. But what exactly is The Rock of Gibraltar?

Gibraltar is one of the last slices of a British Empire that once ruled one quarter of the planet. There is an airport, but car traffic has to stop for each plane that arrives as the main street crosses the runway! Only 6 kilometers and occupied by less than 30,000 people, the residents remain stubbornly British. However, that means that the prices also stay stubbornly British comparable with what you would pay in London. As this is really a fueling port for ships leaving Morocco headed toward Europe, Gilbraltans had to come up with some type of tourist attraction, thus, the Rock of Gibraltar.

Arriving In Gilbralter with the Rock of Gibraltar behind us. Chongae looks taller than the Rock of Gibraltar!

Gibraltar is really a fueling spot, so you see a lot of tankers as they maneuver up to your ship to refuel your vessel.

I understand the need for communities to develop tourist attractions. I personally travelled to Cork City, Ireland and concocted my body in a weird position to kiss The Blarney Stone. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab, that my friends will attest to that I didn’t need any more of! And sophisticated tourists to Florida routinely have their photo taken next to 30-foot plastic oranges to the complete amusement of locals.

Full disclosure, Chongae and I choose not to climb to the top of the rock of Gibraltar and instead did something we found much more interesting.

In the ports we visit we often times see Maga yachts owned by the rich and famous. (or at least the rich) Jeff Bezos was in Rome while we were there but we did not have the chance to see his yacht, Kuro. While in Gibraltar we did spy a yacht named Arience. The interesting thing Chongae and I like to do, find out who owns these superyachts.

If you saw Mr. Miller on the street, you might thing he needs a haircut. As our moms used to say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. He is the owner of this 17-crew yacht valued at 75 million dollars. His net worth is $500 million, the source of his wealth is Miller Value Partners. To find out more go to this link: Bing Videos

It is crucial to have your values in order for no matter how successful you may think you are there is always someone who is going to be successful.

For example, the superyacht Kuro, owned by Jeff Bezos, is reported to have cost $500 million or more to build with an additional annual maintenance cost of at least $30 million.

This is good time to remember what else our moms used to say, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not envious“.

Thanks for travelling with us.