A Great Day in Gibraltar

We didn’t know exactly what to expect in Gibraltar. Since elementary school, we’d heard about the ‘rock of Gibraltar.’ To actually tour it was an eye-opening experience. First of all, Gibraltar’s a British possession, totaling less than 3 square miles, along the coast of Spain. In fact, an airport runway divides Gibraltar from Spain. When a plane uses the runway, the road between the two is temporarily closed.

Second, the strategic position of Gibraltar has made it a source of contention for years. We walked through tunnels (many of which had been dug by hand) in which cannons and other artillery had been hidden from the 1700’s all the way up until World War II. Since Europe is only 8 miles from Africa at this point, whoever controls Gibraltar is in a good position to control passage between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This lighthouse stands at Europa Point, the narrowest point between the 2 continents.

Although you can’t tell by this photo, we could see Africa in the haze across the strait.

Gibraltar is famous for its Barbary Apes. We visited the Ape’s Den, where we were able to get up close and personal with these tailless monkeys. We had been warned not to try to touch or feed them; our guide had a scar from an ape bite to prove her point.

 

One of the tourists had purchased a can of Pringles from the gift shop, but he didn’t get to eat any of the chips before one of the monkeys snatched it right out of his hands!

Below are 2 mothers, each with her young baby. The guide told us that the babies have dark fur when they are born which lightens as they get older. These babies were a few weeks old.

Although it was close to 80 degrees today, there was a constant breeze (thankfully) as you can see in the photo below. (Just look at my hair!) As we admired a large mosque, poor Flat Mary Ann’s head was flopping all around. We were afraid she’d broken her neck, but you’ll be glad to know she’s just fine, and looking forward to our first stop in Spain tomorrow.