monkeying around in gibraltar
As our Spanish adventure continues, yesterday we opted out of a day at the 'Costa del Windsurf' and instead crossed the border into Gibraltar. For all our enthusiasm to experience new cultures, we were sadly excited by English road signs, price tags marked GBP and British high street stores. Let's be honest, what town wouldn't be somewhat improved by the addition of an M&S?
Gibraltar, situated on a rocky outcrop on the southern tip of Spain, could be any northern English town. Except, here the weather is great and the locals are fluent in English and Spanish but choose to converse in a hybrid of the two.
To enjoy the full visitor experience we ventured to The Top of the Rock. Of course, we would naturally choose to hike the 467m summit but due to time constraints we reluctantly opted for the cable car instead. Pity.
The terraces at the top afford uninhibited views of the city below as well as across the Straits to Africa, which seems close enough to swim to. Almost. Also resident on the rock are local apes which have become overly familiar with visitors. As we waited to catch the return cable car, Fox decided it was an opportune moment for a snack. Now, is there anyone on earth who doesn't know what food is reputed to be a monkey's favourite snack? In which case, would you brave eating nuts when surrounded by greedy apes? What ensued was a slow motion scenario that involved Fox ensuring his snack was safe before warning me that a monkey was running straight toward me. In a calamitous moment I had Fox shouting my name, an ape helping itself to the contents of my handbag and me shrieking in shock at the cheeky monkey savouring my Prince biscuit! My immediate worry was the £500 fine incurred for feeding the apes and I began to shout, 'I didn't feed it! I didn't feed it! I have witnesses!' It turns out I needn't have worried as everyone else was too busy photographing the ordeal to report me. Once mommy ape had handed my biscuit to baby ape, she went after Fox to retrieve the nuts. Justice is sweet. However, he and his precious snack retreated safely into the awaiting cable car and we all returned to safety. In true British style we found respite in a pub where we were safe from harms way and agreed that we had probably endured enough monkey business for one day.
Gibraltar, situated on a rocky outcrop on the southern tip of Spain, could be any northern English town. Except, here the weather is great and the locals are fluent in English and Spanish but choose to converse in a hybrid of the two.
To enjoy the full visitor experience we ventured to The Top of the Rock. Of course, we would naturally choose to hike the 467m summit but due to time constraints we reluctantly opted for the cable car instead. Pity.
The terraces at the top afford uninhibited views of the city below as well as across the Straits to Africa, which seems close enough to swim to. Almost. Also resident on the rock are local apes which have become overly familiar with visitors. As we waited to catch the return cable car, Fox decided it was an opportune moment for a snack. Now, is there anyone on earth who doesn't know what food is reputed to be a monkey's favourite snack? In which case, would you brave eating nuts when surrounded by greedy apes? What ensued was a slow motion scenario that involved Fox ensuring his snack was safe before warning me that a monkey was running straight toward me. In a calamitous moment I had Fox shouting my name, an ape helping itself to the contents of my handbag and me shrieking in shock at the cheeky monkey savouring my Prince biscuit! My immediate worry was the £500 fine incurred for feeding the apes and I began to shout, 'I didn't feed it! I didn't feed it! I have witnesses!' It turns out I needn't have worried as everyone else was too busy photographing the ordeal to report me. Once mommy ape had handed my biscuit to baby ape, she went after Fox to retrieve the nuts. Justice is sweet. However, he and his precious snack retreated safely into the awaiting cable car and we all returned to safety. In true British style we found respite in a pub where we were safe from harms way and agreed that we had probably endured enough monkey business for one day.
Labels: travel
posted by foxy_roxtar at 1:07 PM
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