Get a piece of the Rock!

At the top of Colin's list of things to be sure to see on this trip was the Rock of Gibraltar so we headed that way on Thursday. Part of our drive took us along the coast where we could see Africa just on the other side of the water. We stopped at an overlook to get some pictures and use the coin operated telescope. When Bill and I had visited there a few years ago it was so windy we could barely hold our cameras still enough to get a photo. It was much nicer this time. There was a couple of stray dogs and cats around the gift shop and one of the cats looked just like our Chaemi kitty did when he was younger. Of course I had to pet him and get a picture!


When we got to Gibraltar it took us quite a while to get onto the island. Gibraltar belongs to Great Britain so we had to go through a border crossing and there was a long long line of traffic going there also. Another thing that held us up was an airplane! The road into Gibraltar crosses the runway of the airport and a British Airways flight was taking off so we all had to wait for it to be on its way. We spent most of our day on what is called "the Upper Rock". This is a nature reserve that is home to about 250 wild Barbary Macaques who roam freely. I read that there is a superstition that if the monkeys ever leave the British will also (reminds me of the ravens at the Tower of London!) There is a wonderful natural cave that we visited and had lunch afterwards in the little cafe that is in the gift shop just outside the cave exit. The monkeys are all over the place up there and are very brave. While we were eating one came inside and was running across the tables next to us until the owner chased him out! You aren't supposed to feed them but the taxi drivers do and I am sure a lot of others do as well so they were sitting on cars and busses and watching everyone very carefully. The next place we visited up there was the Great Seige Tunnels that were dug out of the rock with picks and chisels and gunpowder in 1782. It was incredible to see how far they got through the rock using such primitive methods. There is a huge 30+ mile network of tunnels through the Rock that is still in use by the military today, most of them were dug during the time of the second world war. After we finished with the tunnels we drove down into the city of Gibraltar for a stroll. It feels just as British as it is, with Bobbies in their distincive caps on patrol, little red phone booths and post boxes and fish and chips shops. We hated to leave, but it was starting to get dark and getting a bit drizzly so we headed back towards our apartment.


On our way back we passed a GORGEOUS village perched on a mountaintop that we couldn't resist stopping in just for a bit. It is called Vejer de la Frontera and is one of the famous "pueblos blancos" or White Villages of Andalucia. We parked near the square in the center of the village and took a walk through some of the narrow streets. It was so quiet and beautiful and just whetted our appetites for our trip the next day when we planned to spend the whole day in one of the villages.