Gibraltar

Sunday May 4

Sailed into Gilbraltar on a sunny Sunday morning, and we can see the rock from our cabin - it's actually hard to miss the rock as it rises steeply above the town and it is the main attraction here! We set out to explore the town and soon discovered that despite the sun there was a chilly wind blowing, so depending where you were it was either warm or cold. Much to Spain's displeasure this is a British territory, but they have their own currency (the Gilbraltar pound) which is parity with Sterling so the shops take either as well as Euros. Compared to the places we've visited in the last 5 weeks it now feels like we're in England with pubs, fish and chips and red letter boxes everywhere, but being a Sunday most of the shops are closed.

Casemates Square and the Rock.

Of course there have been many fights with the Spanish over the years, and a clever Englishman invented this cannon to fire down on them from the heights in 1782.

The fish & chippery behind was Roy's Cod Plaice which tickled Noelle !

As we wanted to get the cable car to the top of the rock we returned to the ship for some warmer clothes before setting off again. We used the local bus to take us to the cable car station and the view on the way up was fabulous, but it was exceeded by the views from the top in all directions. North Africa was clearly visible, along with the Straights of Gilbraltar and it wasn't as cold at the top as expected.

North Africa on the left and Spain on the right separated by the Straights.

At the top of the Rock.

We were also greeted by a horde of Barbary apes which live on the rock, and we were very amused at their friendliness and antics - they know how to perform for the tourists!

Not all tourists wanted to get too close though!

 

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