So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is usele...
So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend. (Robert Louis Stevenson)
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On holidaying in Spain last October, my mum took me and my niece to Gibraltar for the day. It is about an hour and a half drive from where she lives.
On finding somewhere to park the car for the day, I could see immediately the reason why Gibraltar was so popular. Just looking around you could see the beauty of this land!
As we wandered around, even in October, it was busy. Very busy. The hustle and bustle of the streets left you no time to think. We had no intention to begin with on going up the rock. But my niece had heard that there was monkeys up there. So, how can you say 'no' to a 7-yr old? You can't, can you? Plus, I was dying to go up there myself! I really wanted
to see these monkeys I'd heard so much about!
The Rock itself is as high as the eye can see. It's amazing! There is a cable car that takes you to the top. But, if this is not for you, there are others ways and means of getting up there. Please don't drive up there yourself. The road up there is narrow, very steep and very windy. There are plenty of taxi's to escort you up there. We found a really nice taxi driver. He explained to us in full detail the prices. He charged us inclusive the taxi fare and the admission to the nature reserve at the top.
It took us about half an hour to get to the top. As we stopped, he advised us to keep all our belongings in the car, as the monkeys have a tendancy to steal them. He opened his window, and the monkeys clambered over his car while my niece was shrieking with laughter! We got out, and they climb all over you and jump on you. They are actually called Barbary Apes. They are semi-wild. There's about 160 of them in total. Every birth and death is recorded, and each ape is given an official name at birth.
Further up the rock you can go inside the rock. In World War 2 it was prepared as an emergency hospital, but was never used. Inside is pretty spectacular. It is so beautiful, I truely didn't think it was real. My mum had to persuade me it was! It's like being in a magical land. It's so big, with so many steps to climb. For thousands of years, people have used the caves for different reasons, even to live in. The cathedral cave is open to visitors and is made out into an auditorium with seats in which they use for such things like ballet. When we was in there, there was a recording telling us about the caves. There is a slice of rock (45 cm thick) to show the beauty of the rock. God, it's magical. From the rain over the years, you can see the different coloured brown lines in the rock. You really can't imagine the beauty and awe of it until you see it with your own eyes. There's also the seige tunnels which is man made. You can see all the gaps in the rock which was made for firing cannons. Throughout the walk in the seige tunnels and the caves, are statues of people so you can see how they used to live.
Back on ground level there is also plenty to do. There are tiny streets to walk down, with plenty of shops to look around. I came across a lovely little shop selling Catholic stuff like crosses and the face of Jesus etc. Also a beautiful Church to look round. There's a huge square with plenty of different restaurants to choose from. There's loads of tables and chairs. We had dinner, then carried on looking round the shops. Trust mum to find Marks & Spencers! Tobacco and Cigarettes are cheap as well, so if you're a smoker, it's best to get stocked up here. Pound sterling is acceptible, along with the Euro. Of course, Gibraltar is now shared with Spain and England.
Dotted around Gibraltar you can see the history. There's a statue of a guard sitting in a glass container in a wall, with an explanation of who he is.
It's a lovely Country. Small, but nice. There's loads of shops, loads of restaurants and loads of monkeys! If you make your own way to the top, you do have to pay to get into the reserve and in the cave. I'm not sure how much this is though, as I didn't pay.
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We propose some unforgettable holidays in "El Capistrano Villages", in Nerja, the privileged balcony of the Costa del Sol. "El Capistrano Villages" is, possibly, the most beautiful and exclusive Urbanisation on the Costa del Sol.
Jul 25th, 2002
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