Gibraltar: A Large Rock and a Ton of Monkeys

On our second day in Spain, we drove to the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula - where we would temporarily leave the country.  Our destination, Gibraltar, a self-governing British territory with elected officials, but defers to British Imperialism for complex affairs (foreign relations).  To get there, we found a parking garage in La Linea (Spain) and proceeded to walk another 800 meters across the border into Gibraltar.

Getting off the cable car

Looking west

First monkey spotted

As we strolled through the pedestrian zone, the streets were very representative of Britain, occasionally passing red telephone booths and pillar boxes.  After the shopping district, we made our way to the cable car that would take us to the "top of the rock."  The line was long, but not long enough where we would be hounded by the peddlers trying to pitch their van tours.  We only had to wait thirty minutes from the time we got in line to the time we reached Upper Rock Nature Preserve.  It was less than sixty seconds from the time we left the cable car until our first monkey encounter.  There was a feeding frenzy near the beginning of the path, starting the stimulus overload.

Julie with Frick... or Frack

Frick and Frack

Watching the humans

Bailing after an unsuccessful sunglasses swipe

We walked around the main part of the rock several times, observing the behaviors of each niche of monkeys.  After our third lap, we found two adolescent monkeys playing on the path barrier with reckless abandon.  Frick and Frack were a curious and gregarious duo, first climbing on Julie and then attempted to steal my sunglasses.  Luckily, the crowds hadn't amassed and we were fortunate enough to enjoy the company of these two.   Encounters with the animals is at your own risk, but feeding them is strictly forbidden and carries a hefty fine.

Family grooming time

Pondering life's complexities

Learning the proper technique

Leave us alone already guy with camera

However, monkeys are wild and people are stupid.  There was a British couple that seemed to have sparked an interest in a larger monkey.  Moments later, we saw them tossing food for the privileged experience.  At one point, they even got a little aggressive because the monkey stole the woman's hair clip, which they initially thought was a riot.  They proceeded to lure the monkey with more food, then aggressively grappled with the animal for the stupid hair clip.  Sadly, their ignorance went unpunished - financially and/or physically.

Loungin'

Prison cell near Moorish Castle

The Rock of Gibraltar

Morocco in the distance

We spent a few hours walking around the Upper Rock Nature Preserve and it never seemed to get old despite seeing the same groups of monkeys.  Having gotten our primate fix, we walked towards the Moorish Castle to explore the southern part of the park.  Further down the pass, the clouds in the distance (finally) broke apart and we caught our first glimpse of Morocco.  We meandered a little longer and took one final lap around the dense monkey area before returning to sea level.  Back in the pedestrian zone, we indulged ourselves with some English comfort foods at the oldest bar in Gibraltar (Star Bar).  When we arrived back in Málaga, the sun was setting - a perfect time for us to enjoy a stroll on the beach under the pastel sky.

On our last lap

Guard post on path

Downtown