The Rock!

Our next adventure was to another country.  Gibraltar is actually British!  Spain signed it over in the 1700's, under duress of course.  But even though they tried several times they couldn't take it back.  I was surprised that they are rather militantly British.  Prices are in pounds, everyone speaks English, and fish and chips are a big item in the restaurants.  I almost bought tea towels.  It was so cool.  



We went to Gibraltar because John wanted to see it and we were so glad.  We had a blast.  We got to borrow the van to get there, but because of the friction that still exists between England and Spain, it takes 2 hours wait to cross in a car.  Instead we just parked the van and walked across.  The first thing we saw when we got there were some 'van tours'.  We decided to go for it and were so very glad.  The baby slept in the van the whole time and we were able to  walk through the sights and he was able to rest.  Worth every penny!

The first stop was this view point. Those mountains are in Africa.



J knows where we are!

The pillars of Hercules

 The next stop was a cavern.  During the war, it was a field hospital.  Now it is used as a concert venue.

 J got a little monkey as a souvenir, so first she danced with it. 

Then Poppop got a turn. 

This is a cross section of a stalactite.

It was fun cause we could actually touch the rocks.

I think they said it was 900 feet deep.  We had fun making monster shadows on the walls.

 The next stop was the highest point of the rock.  Here we met the infamous monkeys.  It was actually Churchill that imported them.  It used to be an island and there weren't really any animals there at the time.

They are accustomed to humans but aren't really tame.   Sometimes they climb on people's heads and shoulders.  I was glad they kept their distance from us.

We were trying to speak their language, but it didn't seem to work.

You can see how sheer the mountain side is here.  It is the same on the other side of the car.

You can see the city, port and dry docks. 

 Our next stop was the tunnels dug by the British in the 1800's.  They wanted a path to get the canon up to the notch of the rock.  As they were digging, they punched an air hole through the wall of the tunnel and realized that it formed a perfect spot to shoot the canon from.  Controlling that straight is still an important job, and is part of the reason the Brits won't give up Gibraltar. The tunnels were used again during the last World War. It's easy to see why. 

That is Spain across the straight.

After our tour, we spent a little time wandering the shops.  J met a new friend who shared a coin operated ride.

 

At first I thought that this canon was made wrong, the I realized it was meant to shoot down on ships in the harbor.

M enjoyed his long uninterrupted nap.

We had to try the fish and chips.

It was!  The boy next to us didn't finish his, so this seagull flew over and took care of it for him, in about 30 seconds.

 

Between 'the Rock' and Spain, they have 'reclaimed' land for an airport.  Just after we crossed, they closed the gates and a plane landed.

See?  I told you!

We had a fun visit, even with the 40 minute wait to get through customs before we left.  We were grateful someone told us that families with kids could go to the front of the line.