The Rock

October 27, 2013OK, am I the only one that remembers those elementary, or was it middle school, history lessons where we talked about and looked at pictures of the Rock of Gibraltar?  It’s one of those things that I’ve always been curious about.  Not so, with my kids.  When we told our son where we were, he said, “Yeah, I’ve heard of it but don’t know much about it.”  Isabella described it as a dirty city that ‘Spain could have’.  She is British, after all and Spain and Britain have been at odds over control of Gibraltar for a long time. The guide books didn’t encourage a visit and the Mendozas decided a leisurely day in Arcos would be best for them.  We were oh-so-tempted to stay back and avoid another day in the car. Again, I disagree with the guide books.  Maybe I should write my own.  The Rock was all that I expected and more. 

We found our way out of Arcos without getting lost and arrived at the rock, parked in Spain, walked across the border and felt as though we had entered a British city.  The plaza and shopping areas were bustling with shoppers, locals, and tourists.  There were British pubs everywhere, mounted policemen in their colorful uniforms and the Royal Guard made its presence known.  There were restaurants of every ethnicity and I believe we could have found anything we wanted to buy there. Oh, walking in, we had to cross, yes, literally walk across the airport runway.  I’m not talking a small airport with an occasional plane, I’m talking a darn big one. The major road crosses the runway, too. The airport is squashed in between the sea and the rock.  Remind me to never fly into Gibraltar. There were some aggressive tour operators wanting to drive us up and give us the van tour of the Rock.  I am so glad we resisted.  The cable car ride was great!  The views from the cable car and from the top were amazing.  Yes, we could see Africa but the view of the busy port on one side and the beaches on the other was spectacular. The tailless apes were there to greet us.  There is an old saying that “England would have control of Gibraltar for just as long as the apes inhabited the Rock.”  During World War II, Winston Churchill was superstitious enough to add more of the animals there.  I enjoyed the monkeys until one ran and pounced on me unexpectedly.  That was enough for me. Remember all of the international food we saw around the city. Well, we found an exceptional restaurant specializing in the ‘Best Burger in all of Gibraltar’.    We, unashamedly, ordered a big burger.  OK.  It was the best burger ever!  We even had the good sense to say no French Fries.  We’ve had our quota for the next 17 years.  We substituted a salad, and YUM, a real salad! Upon exiting, we walked quickly back across the airport, watching a large passenger plane prepare for take-off.  We flashed our passport in the customs office – no stamp in or out, explored the beach for a few minutes, snapped a few more photos and then had an uneventful ride back into Arcos.  The steep hike from the parking garage to our place is no longer unusual.  We don’t even press ourselves as tightly against the rock walls as we once did. There, we exchanged stories with the Mendozas.  The experienced a perfect day as well.  They happened to stumble across a neighborhood BBQ where they spent the day enjoying the food and fellowship with the locals! Sadly, our time in this part of the world is growing slim.