Gibraltar has a rock.
the rock of Gibraltar
It has monkeys – tailless Barbary macaques. Some are cute and some are not.
cute monkey
this one was very happy with his chip packet
the baby was more intent on picking flowers
I'm sure flowers are much better for a monkey
cuteness is over for this poor old thing
there are lots of monkeys on rocks
There is a cave with stalagmites and stalactites.
inside the cave
There are eucalyptus trees. It is always a surprise to see these outside Australia.
eucalyptus tree
There are tunnels in the rock. The British blasted these tunnels during the Spanish and French seige – 1779 to 1783 – and big guns were installed to chase away the French. During World War II 30 miles of tunnels were added. It is possible to walk through some of the tunnels.
inside the tunnel
there is information along the way
There is imposing rocky scenery.
rocks on a rock
more rock
There are great views from the top.
sea mist at the top
the view of the port
There is a fairly ordinary statue of Admiral Nelson.
Admiral Nelson
This reminded me of the old George Formby song, ” If women like them like men like those, why don’t women like me?”, in particular, the line about Nelson and Lady Hamilton. “Take Lord Nelson with one limb, Lady william Hamilton she fell for him. With one eye and one arm gone west, she ran like the devil and she grabbed the rest”.
But mostly there is the rock.
the rock
Apart from the rock, the monkeys and the tunnels I can’t see much reason to go to Gibraltar. I was spectacularly unimpressed with the rest.
oh Deb I am so impressed! I don’t even know where this place I had to look it up!
hahaha
Thanks for sharing!
By: mirellamccracken on April 20, 2011
at 1:56 pm
Gibraltar is British owned and right at the southern tip of Spain. It has quite a history.
By: bagnidilucca on April 20, 2011
at 2:12 pm
There IS one thing that is unique to Gibraltar; the air landing strip and local road are one and the same! Distinquished by a set of traffic lights; when they are red you, the motorist, line up and wait. You watch the plane come in, land and then the lights change and you’re on your travels. Right across the surface where the plane just landed!! This unusual ‘port/strip’ can be viewed very clearly from one (or more) of the look-outs in the tunnels that you speak of, making it more obvious than when you’re on the ground. Second to this the tunnels and the monkeys DO seem to be the main attraction; except one pharmacy that was faced with beautiful ceramic tiles, depicting all things ‘drugstore’ related. Did you see that?
By: Caterina on April 20, 2011
at 1:57 pm
We walked across the landing strip at the airport to get into Gibraltar. The rock is most impressive and the monkeys are a lot of fun. Unfortunately we missed the pharmacy. The Trafalgar cemetery was quite sad. There seemed to be lots of very young people buried there. I’m sure Gibraltar has its charms, but they weren’t obvious on the day we were there.
By: bagnidilucca on April 20, 2011
at 2:11 pm
P.S. Your photo/s of the pansies on the bridge are just stunning; with that backdrop!Wow!
By: Caterina on April 20, 2011
at 2:00 pm
Soon it will be time to replace them with geraniums. I hate to see the pansies go.
By: bagnidilucca on April 20, 2011
at 2:13 pm
Well, the rock is quite impressive! I suppose it’s all about the history and strategic significance of the place. It’s a bit like what we have here in South Africa. Cape Point is spectacular, whereas the true most southern point in Africa and the meeting place of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is at Cape Agulhas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Agulhas) which is rather nondescript, and often shrouded in mist.
By: lisa@notesfromafrica on April 20, 2011
at 2:36 pm
The rock is very impressive, but the town needs a little love.
By: bagnidilucca on April 20, 2011
at 5:57 pm
It has history, it has macaques, it has misterious mist, quite a rock! I like the massive profile of it.
A kind of popular legend says it will be British as long as the macaques are there, isn’t it?
By: maru on April 20, 2011
at 5:36 pm
I think that is the case. The monkeys look well settled.
By: bagnidilucca on April 20, 2011
at 5:56 pm
Deb, the rock of Gibraltar!! Next time I use that expression, I’ll know what it means! Thank you.. 🙂
By: Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial on April 20, 2011
at 7:14 pm
The rock certainly looks steady.
By: bagnidilucca on April 20, 2011
at 7:30 pm
Me too Celia. I’ve heard the expression, now I know where the actual rock is. Interesting that you were spectacularly unimpressed with the rest there.
By: Anna Johnston on April 20, 2011
at 9:12 pm
I sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar in the Achille Lauro in 1972 on my way to Italy the first time. It is only about 14 kilometres wide at its narrowest point. Ferries go across from Gibraltar and Morrocco and from Tarifa to Tangiers regularly.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 5:27 am
I wonder if that monkey knew that its cute days were over?
What a contrast with the history and the monkeys, compared to all the high rises and port.
By: cityhippyfarmgirl on April 20, 2011
at 10:39 pm
That poor old monkey was sitting quietly with its hand on a tourist’s knee. I think it was aware of its circumstances.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 5:21 am
you can catch a boat to Morocco from Gibraltar!
By: darylbutler on April 21, 2011
at 1:43 am
Yes you can do that. It would be a reason to go to Gibraltar.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 5:20 am
awesome Rock!! it’s a wonder! :O
the monkeys yeah, they are cute, I am smiling… hihihihi…
By: Prima on April 21, 2011
at 3:37 am
There are a couple of hundred monkeys on the rock. There are 5 family groups who like to squabble occasionally.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 5:19 am
*sigh* I adore monkeys! And you really travel around don’t you! 🙂
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on April 21, 2011
at 6:12 am
We did 5,000 kilometres on the Spain trip.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 6:20 am
My father was stationed for a time in Gib during the war and worked on building the further 30 miles of tunnels. I visited Gibralter recently whilst holidaying in Spain. I really wanted to visit where my dad was stationed and to see the rock. Sadly I did not get to visit the tunnels or go to the top of the rock as the cable car was closed that day. Thank you for sharing your pictures of the tunnels.
By: Paula on April 21, 2011
at 9:32 am
The cable car was closed the day we were there too, so we took a mini bus tour to the top. It was quite good, the driver had lots of local knowledge.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 12:34 pm
The rock does look spectacular, but I guess there’s plenty of spectacular rocks to look at in the world – if there isn’t much culture or other interesting stuff around, I’ll take your word for it and keep it low on my list of places to visit!
By: David Robertson on April 26, 2011
at 11:01 am
Yes, don’t bother, go somewhere else to see cute monkeys.
By: bagnidilucca on April 26, 2011
at 12:33 pm
[…] Not to worry, from there we went on to Cadiz, which we loved. Click here for lovely Cadiz and here for a look at Gibraltar ( the monkeys are cute). Share this:ShareEmailPrintFacebookLike this:LikeBe […]
By: Jim’s Spanish sherry collection « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on September 14, 2011
at 12:22 am