Spain: Gibraltar
One of the things we wanted to see during our week on the Costa del Sol was Gibraltar. We were staying only 90 kilometers up the coast so it was a very easy drive. We hadn't made any real effort to figure out where on Gibraltar we were going once we got there but we assumed that wouldn't be a big deal.
The whole idea of Gibraltar is fascinating to us both that across a thin piece of land (and an airport runway) from Spain sits this English territory made up mostly of a large rock. Once we arrived and easily crossed the border we made our way to Europa Point, the southernmost point on Gibraltar. It is fascinating to be able to stand there and look across the Med and see the mountains of Morocco so close. We knew Gibraltar is a major shipping port but were amazed at the number of large ships we saw entering or leaving the port area. The wind was unbelievable at Europa Point and was about enough to knock the kids over although it was warm and sunny so it's wasnt uncomfortable. After a short time around the lighthouse there and taking some pictures we made our way back across Gibraltar and decided we wanted to see if a ride up the cable car made sense.
The cable car ride to the top of the rock turned out to be a great way to see Gibraltar. It was a quick 6 minute ride up and were told we would see the famous Gibraltar Barbary Apes at the top. We made the mistake of telling Sofia that they were called Barbary Apes and not monkeys and from that point forward if we referred to them as monkeys she would immediately remind us that they were not monkeys, and not even apes for that matter, but only Barbary Apes. Quick informational note: the Barbary Macaque is indeed a true monkey and not an ape so it's unclear why they are referred to as apes. Once we left the cable car we immediately saw a number of Barbary Apes all around the viewing platforms at the top of the rock. The girls really enjoyed seeing them and since they were willing to come very close to people they got many great sightings. The views from the top were amazing. You can see the shipping port and marina clearly looking right below the rock; looking south you have a great view of the mountains of Morocco across the Mediterranean and looking east up the cost of Spain you see more mountains there.
We had many closeups with the apes but the most interesting was watching a young ape who was jumping around and being quite playful. A teenage boy with his family was standing close by the young ape who then began pulling on the boys shirt. The ape lost its balance from the top of the railing and fell the ground. An older ape immediately rushed over towards the boy making some very unpleasant chattering sounds and got in front of the young ape. At that time we decided to all walk away from them for a bit to let things settle down.
Our departure must have been timed wrong with normal traffic flows because there was little traffic coming onto Gibraltar but when we went to leave around 6pm we got stuck in traffic and it took us about an hour to get back across into Spain.
See our Gibraltar pictures >>
See all our Spain pictures >>
The whole idea of Gibraltar is fascinating to us both that across a thin piece of land (and an airport runway) from Spain sits this English territory made up mostly of a large rock. Once we arrived and easily crossed the border we made our way to Europa Point, the southernmost point on Gibraltar. It is fascinating to be able to stand there and look across the Med and see the mountains of Morocco so close. We knew Gibraltar is a major shipping port but were amazed at the number of large ships we saw entering or leaving the port area. The wind was unbelievable at Europa Point and was about enough to knock the kids over although it was warm and sunny so it's wasnt uncomfortable. After a short time around the lighthouse there and taking some pictures we made our way back across Gibraltar and decided we wanted to see if a ride up the cable car made sense.
The cable car ride to the top of the rock turned out to be a great way to see Gibraltar. It was a quick 6 minute ride up and were told we would see the famous Gibraltar Barbary Apes at the top. We made the mistake of telling Sofia that they were called Barbary Apes and not monkeys and from that point forward if we referred to them as monkeys she would immediately remind us that they were not monkeys, and not even apes for that matter, but only Barbary Apes. Quick informational note: the Barbary Macaque is indeed a true monkey and not an ape so it's unclear why they are referred to as apes. Once we left the cable car we immediately saw a number of Barbary Apes all around the viewing platforms at the top of the rock. The girls really enjoyed seeing them and since they were willing to come very close to people they got many great sightings. The views from the top were amazing. You can see the shipping port and marina clearly looking right below the rock; looking south you have a great view of the mountains of Morocco across the Mediterranean and looking east up the cost of Spain you see more mountains there.
We had many closeups with the apes but the most interesting was watching a young ape who was jumping around and being quite playful. A teenage boy with his family was standing close by the young ape who then began pulling on the boys shirt. The ape lost its balance from the top of the railing and fell the ground. An older ape immediately rushed over towards the boy making some very unpleasant chattering sounds and got in front of the young ape. At that time we decided to all walk away from them for a bit to let things settle down.Our departure must have been timed wrong with normal traffic flows because there was little traffic coming onto Gibraltar but when we went to leave around 6pm we got stuck in traffic and it took us about an hour to get back across into Spain.
See our Gibraltar pictures >>
See all our Spain pictures >>
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