Wed 6/9/10 Gibralter

The rock of Gibralter

Crossing the runway in the rain

The army tunnels with gun sights out toward Spain

Looking down over the runway toward Spain

The wild monkeys

They actually jumped on another tourist

Today it rained almost all day. After breakfast we drove to Gibraltar, an English Colony that was used to defend England against Spain and Africa, as well as monitoring the Strait of Gibraltar. Once we got there it wasn’t raining so we started walking to the rock. We had been planning to take the gondola but it was closed due to the wind. On the way we decided to get a taxi tour that will take you to four or five different areas on the mountain. Along the way, the driver explained all of the sites and history of the city. Our first stop was to see the view of Africa and to see the Moorish wall and castle. Our second stop was to see the monkeys that live there (brought from Africa) and then to go into a cave. The whole rock is limestone riddled with caverns and this cave that was equipped to be a hospital during the war but now is used as a concert hall. Our third stop was on the other side of the mountain, where we could see the view toward Spain. To cross from Spain to Gibralter, you have to go across a working runway of an airport, so sometimes the cars and pedestrians just have to wait. You also have to go through border checks for both countries. There were also many monkeys there (including teenage monkeys and infants). Here we went into the army tunnels. They are 33 miles long (The Rock of Gibraltar is only 4 miles) and were used to shoot out of, store arms, and for the soldiers to live in.

The town of Gibraltar is very English. They don’t have stores closed from 3-5 like in Spain and they speak English. They also have English restaurants and stores. For lunch we got fish and chips (French fries) and meat pie. Once we started walking back to the car it started to pour and we got very wet (especially Stuart who was “sharing” an umbrella with Frances). Then we drove to Granada. When we got to Granada, it was pouring rain and dark. We couldn’t find the hotel and all of the streets are narrow and one-way. Once we found the right hotel, we were directed to the parking garage, which had a car elevator.