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isth·mus
noun \ˈis-məs\ : a narrow area of land
that connects two larger land areas
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On Friday morning we headed to La Linea de la Concepcion (or La Linea for short -- it means "boundary line"). La Linea is on the
isthmus that connects Spain and Gibraltar. We parked, deposited our luggage in our hostel, and WALKED across the border into Gibraltar. One minute we were in Spain, then we walked across an airport runway, and the next minute we were in the British Territory of Gibraltar.
We strolled down Main Street, grabbed a bite to eat at an outdoor cafe, then headed straight for the cable car to take us to the Top of the Rock. The views from the cable car AND from the top were AMAZING!
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| The Mediterranean Sea side |
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| The Atlantic Ocean side |
The Moors, Spanish, and British all occupied Gibraltar at different points in history, and they all built fortifications and defenses including walls, bastions, case-mates, gun batteries, magazines, and tunnels. Remains/ruins of these were everywhere, and we enjoyed climbing on, in, over and under them.
The monkeys, or Barbary macaques, are one of main reasons Olivia wanted to go to Gibraltar. They are the only free-roaming primates in Europe, and legend says that when the monkeys leave Gibraltar, it will cease to be British!
The monkeys
looked cute and friendly, and they sure didn't mind posing for pictures, but there were warnings
everywhere not to feed them or try to pet them. Sometimes you didn't have to feed them--they would steal your food right out of your hand or bag!
The upper rock is a Nature Reserve, with beautiful wildflowers everywhere.
After exploring the upper rock, we began our trek to the other sights, having NO idea that we would have to walk MILES to see them. For the most part, the walking was on a very slight but steady decline, but by the end we felt like we had traversed the entire rock several times. It was a HARD day!
We went to Saint Michael's Cave first. The cave was created by rainwater slowly seeping through the limestone rock. Over thousands of years, tiny cracks in the rock grew into long passages and large caverns. Supposedly, during the Victorian era the cave was used for picnics, parties, concerts, weddings and even duels.
The caves would be decorated, and soldiers would perch on
stalagmites with torches to light the cave for distinguished visitors. Evidence has been found that the cave was used many times for military purposes, and in World War II it was prepared for use as a military hospital. Today there is an auditorium inside the cave, lots of fancy lighting, and it's used for concerts and even the Miss Gibraltar pageant! Over a million people visit the cave each year. I'm glad we were three of them!
From St. Michael's Cave we headed wwaaaaayyyy across the rock to the Great Siege Tunnels
. WAY across. Olivia and I
thought we had on good walking shoes, but we evidently didn't. The tunnels were amazing, though, and worth the pain! In the late 1700's, Spain and France launched an all-out war to try to take Gibraltar from the British. They didn't succeed, but the war lasted over three years, and during this time the British dug tunnels in the rock creating an amazing fortress. From the tunnels you can see Spain and the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, but you can't really see the openings in the face of the rock unless you know to look for them.
From the Great Siege Tunnels we walked a relatively short distance to the Moorish Castle, which was once a Medieval fortress on Gibraltar. I couldn't climb one more step, and our time was running out, but Olivia and Tim climbed to the top.
When we left the castle, we walked downhill until we found the "castle steps". We walked down, and down, and down, and down the steps until we FINALLY ended up back on Main Street where we had begun our day. Most cafes were closed, and we finally collapsed at a BURGER KING. Diet Coke for me!
But then we still had to walk all the way back to Spain!
We were not charmed by the snake charmer. Even Mama wouldn't have been scared of this snake. We're pretty sure it was drugged! Our least favorite thing about Tangier was the constant badgering from the residents to buy something or give them money for something. After we watched the man with the snake, he passed around a bucket for our money. Olivia and I just said, "NO!" "NO!" "NO!" every time someone asked us for money. What did Tim do? He struck up a conversation! Did it matter that they didn't speak the same language? "NO!" On the ferry back to Spain, he started talking to a man who spoke almost NO English, and kept asking him questions like "Do you like country music?" Of course the man had NO idea what Tim was asking, so Tim kept asking Olivia to translate. To help the man understand what she was talking about, she ended up singing a few lines of "Jesus Take the Wheel". I laughed until I cried.
