Gibraltar. It's almost like we went to England.

A giant rock located on the southern tip of Spain, close to Africa, that is actually a British territory.  There are apes. It is kind of like England. There must be fish and chips because that is a popular dish in England…That is literally what our impression of Gibraltar was before we went.  Claire and I purchased bus tickets ida y vuelta (there and back) for 36€ each and made reservations at a hostal in La Línea, the city right next to Gibraltar in Spain, because we heard that the hostals in Gibraltar were not good and the bus station was nearby.  A private double-room cost us 32€. We packed our backpacks and took a bocadillo (sandwich/sack lunch) and were on our way to catch the bus at 9:30AM.

Upon arrival at the bus station, we encountered a friend of ours from the study abroad program (John, who goes by Anthony, his middle name, but I call him Antonio because it’s more Spanish).  He was traveling by himself. He had a guidebook, so he told us about a bus to take once in Gibraltar, that would take us all the way to Europa Point at the end and would pass all of the other scenic stops along the way. On the 4-hour bus ride (because we made stops to several other cities along the way), there was a large number of stereotypical American exchange students. They were annoying and made us embarrassed to be associated with.  One girl asked us a question in Spanish when she couldn’t find her seat. We said, “We speak English.” The look of relief on her face was priceless.  There were also several very loud speaking Spanish women. Needless to say, we didn’t get much homework done on the ride.

When we arrived in La Línea, we asked an old man (I feel bad saying “old” because in Spanish you cannot use the literal translation for old (viejo) when referring to senior citizens because it is considered derogatory. You say “personas mayores.”)  We found our hostal and entered our room. It was not dirty or unsafe at all, simply simple. These pictures may explain better than I can.

(The room came equiped with a T.V. that was the size of my computer screen. It was not plugged in.)

(Welcome to our cozy little room. Not too bad really. We slept well in those beds.)

(Bathroom.)

(The view outside.)

(The remote. Note the batteries being held in place by tape. We later removed these batteries to use in the remote which controled the air conditioning unit.)

It was at this point that I decided to document the entire trip in pictures.

(Gibraltar)

We walked to Gibraltar and flashed our passports as the guards as we crossed the border into another country.  There was a red telephone booth. It was like England. We then got onto Bus #3, which Antonio had suggested.  We rode it to Europa Point and enjoyed the view. We couldn’t see Africa because it was too cloudy, but it’s very close (14 miles I think).  We sat and chatted for a while. There was an ant transporting a potato chip across the walkway. This sparked an intriguing conversation about perspectives on life. It was enlightening and pleasant.  Thus began my realization that I do not know where I want to be after I graduate college.  Where shall I live? Do I want to settle down right away? I have many dreams and don’t want to sacrifice them so early on. Life happens and plans change all the time. I decided just to go with the flow “let nature take its course.”

(About to cross the border.)

(Europa Point!)

(I like lighthouses.)

(Ant and potato chip.)

(No parking if you're there during all times, or no parking at any time?)

(No worries. They fixed the fence.)

(What Europa Point would look like if the construction was done.)

I wanted fish and chips for dinner. I convinced Claire that this was a good idea. I mean this with all sincerity when I say it, this was on my bucket-list—eating fish and chips in Gibraltar. We asked the bus driver where a good place was to eat. He was very nice and told us when to get off and where to walk to after our stop (Turns out all the bus drivers in Gibraltar were incredibly kind. This was a pleasant experience).  Antonio then called us to invite us to dinner in Casemate’s Square, which was nearby.  We ate at an English pub/restaurant with a live acoustic performance. It was wonderful. We then walked around and enjoyed the evening. We saw tons of people with what looked like jello shots. We then discovered that there was a Subway Shot Bar. I kid you not, a shot bar at the Subway sandwich restaurant.  There were kids, probably around age 14, hanging out there and one of the employees was playing a game similar to hacky-sack with them. It was strange indeed.

(Fish and Chips.)

The next morning, we had McDonald’s breakfast. There were fancy chairs. We sat in them. Naturally. 

(They had a Playplace. We didn't play.)

(Fancy chairs.)

It started to rain. And then it poured. We planned to take a cable car up to see the famous apes. We rode a bus, but missed our stop. The bus driver let us keep riding and told us when to get off.  He even let a woman on the bus before she reached the bus stop she was walking to, so she could get out of the rain. Chivalry still exists! 

(Rain.)

When we arrived at the cable car station, the woman told us that they were not running due to the rain and wind. We decided to pay the extra money to take the taxi tour because we’d only be in Gibraltar once and seeing the apes was a must.  The taxi tour cost us 25€ each, but included admission into the sites we stopped at along the way to the top (this is something the cable car did not do). It turned out to be the greatest decision ever.  Our van contained a man from Australia, two men from England, and the two of us from the U.S. It was fun to represent the English speaking countries.  Not only did we get to see the caves and tunnels (which we knew nothing about), but we learned the history about them and about other random Gibraltar facts. It was fantastic. Our driver/tour guide, like almost everyone in Gibraltar, spoke Spanglish.  He explained that they all learned English at school, which was run exactly like the system in England, and they learn Spanish on the streets.

(We were wet and waiting for the taxi tour.)

(Hercules' pillars...because legend has it Hercules is the god who separated the land of Gibraltar and North Africa so that ships could enter the new world (the Atlantic Ocean). One pillar is on Gibraltar and one is in Africa.)

(Inside the cave. They have concerts in there during the summer because the acoustics are good.)

(Apes! Mamma and baby...they went everywhere. On vans. In the gift shop. Everywhere.)

(Inside the tunnels...originally, slaves created the tunnels by hand (and later they were completed and expanded with the use of machines). these tunnels were created inside the rock of Gibraltar, going all the way around. Every so many meters there was a window in which a cannon was placed. This was a great way for Gibraltar to defend itself against enemies during the war, etc.) 

(A view of Gibraltar and La Linea from the rock.)

(Another view.)

The apes were fun. They are not afraid of people and will steal food from you, if it’s out in the open. Our guide explained to us that the apes were originally introduced to Gibraltar when the Moors from Africa began to take over Spain in 711. Some people believe that the apes were used as mascots to motivate the warriors, but others (including our guide) believe that they were brought as a means of food to feed the troops through travel and to fulfill religious purposes of some sort.  Now, they keep the ape population limited to around 300 and bring in new males from Morocco every few years to prevent inbreeding.

After the tour, we had burgers and milkshakes in honor of our American heritage. They weren’t very good, but they filled our void.

We power walked to the bus station to catch our 4:00PM bus back to Sevilla. We made it with 2 minutes to spare.  At our half-way point where we stop for a break, I had a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. So good.

A great little trip.              

(You're welcome.)