Brian goes solo

Not able to convince anyone to go to Gibraltar when we vacationed in Portugal, Brian was determined not to miss it a second time. Up early to catch the 7 a.m. bus he travelled 2 hours through rolling farmlands, passing many small, picturesque towns and through 7 tunnels to his destination. Once through customs, he transferred to a smaller bus to ride up the narrow winding roads.

The driver was a font of information, telling us the history of th e Rock (regarded as one of the pillars of Hercules). It was settled by the Moors in 711. Then in 1475 the Spanish took over. In 1704 the British moved in and despite 14 attempts to retake the land they never succeeded.

The Rock is 10 km. around but is honey combed with 50 km. of tunnels. It is 426 m high. It is made of Jurassic limestone and was created when the African techtonic plate collided with Europe about 55 million years ago. The wall around its base was built by prisoners who were shipped to Australia upon its completion. There are approximately 300 monkeys (macaques) living happily there and not shy about posing with the tourists.

We made 3 stops on this tour. A newly built lookout where you can see North Africa 14 km. away and a beautiful mosque built in 1997. A very large cavern with stalactites, a small concert hall and colourful lights. A second lookout overlooking the bay and the city below. The very top can only be reached by walking (not happening), a special taxi (very expensive) or gondola. The tour ended with the mandatory time for shopping in the town. I wondered the pedestrian mall to the square where I enjoyed an English lunch of Pastie (a meat turnover originally developed for miners), , listening to British accents and watching a “Bobbie” patrol the area.

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