Gibraltar

After a couple of days in Cadiz, we took a day trip to Gibraltar, a British territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean and across from the northern end of Africa (you can see Africa from the top of the Rock). Americans are familiar with it in the Prudential ads of "The Rock."

Photo: The Rock


We parked our car in Spain and walked across the border to the United Kingdom...well, sort of. We got a kick out of the signs in English (rather than Spanish) along with the typically English red, double decker buses.




An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain by Spain in 1713. It became an important base for the British Royal Navy, which drove the local economy. Today, its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services (read: off shore banking) and shipping.




The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory and seeks its return. Yet, Gibraltarians have rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in referenda held in 1967 and 2002.



The highlight of our visit was taking a gondola to the top of the rock where the Gibraltar apes run free. While the apes are tame, they often climb on unsuspecting tourists, and will grab bags of potato chips or other snacks if given the opportunity.


Photos: Gibraltar Apes









The Apes of Gibraltar are actually tail-less monkeys. No one is really sure how they arrived on Gibraltar and legend has it that if they were to leave The Rock then the Brits would also go. The two most popular explanations as to their appearance is either that they crossed via a subterranean tunnel from their native Morocco or British sailors introduced them having picked them up on their travels.

During the second World War their numbers went into a decline and Winston Churchill, taking a personal interest in the them, arranged to have some more imported from Morocco. Since then, their numbers have steadily increased.