This past weekend some friends and I rented a car and drove to Gibraltar, which is only about two hours from Seville. I had been looking forward to visiting because of the history and the novelty of the place - and it didn't disappoint!
First of all, we had to go through "border control" which basically consisted of holding up our passports and a man waving us through. Then, we had to cross the runway to get into town! We found this sign quite amusing . . .
You can see the Rock of Gibraltar in the background!
Once in the town, everything was written in English. Pubs were everywhere with pints of beer and fish and chips. Needless to say, our English friends couldn't have been happier! There were tons of British tourists, identifiable by their accent and super-sunburnt skin. It kind of felt like spring break in the US!
We took a cable car up to the top of the rock, which was fantastic! From the top, you could look across the Strait of Gibraltar and see Morocco - amazing! A bit of Greek history says that the Rock of Gibraltar was split from it's other half in Morocco by Hercules during his Twelve Labors . . . More recent history tells of how the Spanish and English fought many battles over the rock, which the English eventually won.
My favorite part of the rock was the Barbary Apes - they were everywhere! It's a mystery as to how they arrived in Gibraltar, but there is evidence that they were in Morocco in prehistoric times. These little guys were quite fascinating to me!
"Hmmm . . . whose plastic bag will I steal next?"
Overall, it was a fantastic day trip. Cheerio, Gibraltar!
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