Gibraltar

Passports in hand we headed to Gibraltor today about an hour from where we are staying. Parked the car in Spain and walked across the border along with the hustle of locals heading to work. 

First adventure; walking across the airport runway, luckily no plane arrived just then.

Crossing the border was a very relaxed affair but we were definitely in England.

The Rock is the main reason to visit Gibraltor but we weren't really looking foward to the free ranging Barbary Macaques, a tailless variety of monkeys. 

It was extremely windy and we chose to walk up rather than take the cable car.  First stop, the Moorish Castle built in 1160. A relatively small structure combining a tower within a tower. 

We kept our distance from the first monkey who was enjoying the view over the city.

 Further up the rock we visited the exhibitions and Great Seige Tunnels, excavated by the British Army during the great Seige of 1179 - 1783. An impressive undertaking.

On our way back to Spain we could clearly see the windows to the tunnels.

Lots of apes along the way interact with the tourists. They weren't aggressive but did sometimes jump on people and those teeth are still scary. 

St Michael's cave is vast and was used as a hospital during WW11. The rather loud commentary is followed by an odd sound and light show illuminating the cave in unnatural bright colours to the tunes of pop music. 

We still had a bit more climbing to go to get to the very top.

And more monkeys.

Traditional fish and chips with a pint at the Picadilly pub back in town.

Gibraltor reflections....very interesting and worth the visit. The views from the top back across the Spanish coast and over the straits to Morocco are vast. The city is busy and has lots of familiar shops: Top Shop, Marks and Spencers etc. But, on the Rock itself, the rubbish and the general state of the structures, signage and paths are disappointing. It seems a bit forgotten by England.