16.Febrero.2009.
Sorry I am little late writing up about the Strait of Gibraltar but oh well, here we go. We got up bright and early on Saturday morning to meet with the tour group. (we booked through a company called Discover Sevilla. They cater to college age Americans studying abroad in the city.) We left around 9:30 and got there near 12:30 including a bus stop. So it is not very far from Sevilla at all. Also, this part of Southern Spain has great big windmills. This is the only way I have seen that they are able to produce energy. It's very windy, so I guess it's a good idea. I've never seen them before in real life so it was cool so see them pop up on the horizon, these great hulking giants. Also, it reminded me of Don Quijote when he fights the windmills. Kind of ironic they are in the country side of Spain.
Gibraltar is a British colony, a little pocket of England if you will, and so we had to get out of the bus and cross the border. They did not check much, just glanced at our passports. Unfortunately one girl from our program is from Camaroon (spelling?? it's a country in Africa) but she has lived in the United States for years. She just got her citizenship and is waiting to have her American passport mailed to her. Because of the immigration problem from Northern Africa, Gibraltar requires a VISA if you have a passport from Camaroon and because of that, she was not able to cross the border.
After crossing the border, we got into smaller buses that took us around the city and down to the end of Gibraltar (it is only three square miles and 30,000 people live there). At this point, there is an old mosque from when Arabic Spain had Gibraltar under its control and a lighthouse. At the end, you look out on the Strait. Africa can be seen clearly. We saw it even though it was a cloudy day outside. Spain is also visible on the other side. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles. It was windy out there but very interesting to see the Strait. I could not believe I was looking at Africa! Yes, Africa! You can see Morocco. Hopefully, I will be visiting there soon. It was a sobering experience because I could finally feel like I am on the other side of the world.
After seeing Africa, we ascended up the rock of Gibraltar in the buses. To the left we could see the bay and city below. There were no guard rails! The rock itself is 426 metres or 1.396 feet high. (In Spain, using a period indicates more than 1000 and a comma indicates cents or point. For example 1.396 feet in Spain = 1,396 feet in America. And things will cost 0,30 euro cents. Just a little fun fact.) We drove up to see St. Michael's Cave. As soon as we got near the stop, there were already monkeys jumping on the buses. They run across the windshield wipes, scamper across the roofs, and hang onto the side view mirrors to come beg for food from the drivers. Technically, because they do not have tails, they are Barbary apes and they are the only wild apes in Europe. Their population is near 250 and they are very friendly (and hungry). There are two theories about how they got there: that Gibraltar used to be connected to Africa through underground tunnels or caves or that they were brought by pirates/sailors who kept them as pets.
St. Michael's Cave was incredible. It is a limestone cave created solely by drops of rainwater that ran down through the cracks over 2 million years. The formations are lit with artificial lights which help outline them. The largest room has been made into a concert hall because of its aesthetics and its great acoustics. Pictures were hard to get in there but I got a few good ones. Those are already posted for your viewing pleasure.
Back outside, we played with the monkeys a little more. One girl wanted to have one jump on her (because they will if they think you have food) and so one of the bus drivers was coaxing it onto her shoulders with peanuts. It jumped on her head and he continued feeding it peanuts. Unfortunately, one fell down the girl's shirt and the monkey had no qualms about sticking its hand down the front of her blouse. It was hilarious.
We drove down to one view known as the Apes Den because a group of the Barbary Apes are known to hang out there. We stopped and got out and were able to go take pictures with them. One little baby monkey thought I was holding something in my hand and so he peeled back my fingers one by one looking for food. Another saw I was holding my camera in the front pocket of my hoodie and thought it was food. He tugged at it until he realized there was nothing there to eat. They are sneaky little devils. One riffled through a guy's backpack, undoing the zipper and all.
After our sightseeing tour, we were allowed to go out for about 2 and a half hours of free time to get lunch and explore the city. We walked up and down one of the main streets for shopping. I bought a cute party dress and then we found an off the beaten path cafe that was serving breakfast all day. Because I had spent all my money on the dress, I just had a pint but one of my friends Andy got the English breakfast: two eggs over easy, sausage, baked beans, and grilled tomato. Quite a meal. Oh, and because this is an English colony, everyone speaks English and Spanish. It was strange to hear English in the streets and to be able to talk to the store keepers in English.
On the way back, I mostly dozed and watched some of the movie they were playing on the bus. All and all, it was great trip for the money. Hope you guys like the pictures. By the way, this was my first time going out of the country (technically) of Spain! More trips to come!
Love and miss you all
Elle
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