Spain - Day 7, Gibraltar

We got up bright and early on Day 7 to go to Gibraltar. After scoping out our directions the day before because, you know, we got lost every day, we were confident we'd find our way. Maybe. And then they changed the meeting point. No worries. We had it figured out. Until we got lost. Again. *sigh* But you know what? We made it to the new meeting point on time! And off we went to the Rock of Gibraltar.

As you may know, Gibraltar is a British holding right there on the tip of Spain. As far from Britain as you can get with a whole country in between. As such, we needed our passports to cross into it, and wouldn't you know? One of the people on our tour didn't bring theirs. Instead, they brought a passport card, which didn't allow them admittance into the country. Long trip to be turned away! Our guide, Zoraida, escorted us across the airfield to the border (yes, we crossed a runway to enter the country) and to the guide on Gibraltar who took over. 

The Rock of Gibraltar

Of all the places we saw, I have to say this was the most commercial. There's a whole town on Gibraltar and people who live there and work there. As our guide told us, there are more jobs than people. They are reclaiming the land from the sea (this author has mixed feelings about that, but who am I to judge). On one side, the Mediterranean, on the other, the Atlantic Ocean. As tourists will, we went up the rock to see the views from the top - you can see Morocco from Gibraltar - and the monkeys. Monkey, you say? Yes. with repeated warnings, those little critters are quick to steal from you! They'd warned us they would show up at the first sight of food, and told us what to do if one jumped on our shoulder. What they didn't expect is that one very bold monkey actually came into the restaurant and stole a man's ice cream right out of his hand! (They'd warned us not to walk outside with food.) I think what annoyed me was that when I walked outside, two women were teasing the monkeys with their ice cream, staring them down and all but daring them to take it from them. These are wild animals, ladies. Well-cared for, vaccinated, fed, but still wild animals.

monkey with purloined ice cream

Barbary Macaques

Also at the top of the mountain was St. Michael's Cave. Inside, they've rigged up light shows for the tourists, and I have to say I was impressed by the angel of the cave.

The guide took us back down the rock and left us on our own to find food and shop (I mentioned the commercial part, yeah?) and after a day at the rock, we were on our way back to Sevilla.

The trip was action packed and adventure filled. I enjoyed Sevilla very much and it ranks up there with one of the places I'd love to go back to one day. 

Hasta la proxima vez, Sevilla!