Gibralter

I had thought Gibralter would be boring. I was wrong! The 6 of us English speakers hired a taxi driver to take us on a tour instead of taking a shore excursion. It was fascinating to realize how important of a role the area had played in military campaigns throughout history. The moors had built a garden there in addition to military fortifications in the 1300's. As part of the garden, they brought in Barbary Apes. They have been wild in the area ever since. There are 3 main troops I believe, totally about 600 apes. They are very audacious and will try and get in the vehicle or take food from you. Most will bite and so they tell you to leave them alone. Apparently one troop was tamer and our taxi driver got one to sit on Don's shoulders. He wasn't too happy about it. When he asked for a volunteer, we all pointed to Don. We went into a neat cave and then up to the top of the rock, with beautiful views. We went to the seige tunnels from WWII. Gibralter has no taxes and lots of money. They are big in offshore banking and fuel. Since there aren't any taxes, all the ships stop by to fuel up. It was a fun visit. This momument says "the ancient World". From here you look over to Africa. There are stories about how Atlas or Hercules tore the land apart here to form the Mediterannean.

Looking to Africa from Gibralter.

In side the caves.

Beautiful View! Look at the colors of the water. It's a long way down.

Don with Ape

See the tiny buildings?

Where the apes are fed. Apples, potatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, oranges, onions.

Family of Apes at seige tunnels