RACHAEL AND DAVE'S HOLIDAY 2003
Monday meant an early start, as we were book on a coach tour to take us across the Costa del Sol, to Gibraltar - "a little part of Britain, in Spain." This meant remembering our passports, as we would pass from Spanish control into British rule.
The route along the motorway was great, as the road followed the coast. We passed by Malaga, Torremolinos and Marbella to get there. As we came close, we could see the famous Rock of Gibraltar, and also the African mountains, just 12 miles away, across the Straights of Gibraltar.
We moved on to the caves of St Michel - inside the 'the rock' itself. These caves are full of the most amazing stalagmites and stalagtites. It has the most amazing acoustics, and houses a small theatre/concert hall. During the second world war, most of the Gibraltar inhabitants could have been housed with the rock if necessary, with facilities including a hospital built into the rock. Infact, according to our guide, there are more miles of road INSIDE the rock than there is in Gibraltar, OUTSIDE it!
The apes are a famous and important part of the history of Gibraltar. It is said that so long as there are apes on the rocks, Gibraltar will be part of Britain. They roam free on the rock, waiting for unsuspecting tourists to come and feed them. They have been known to take food out of hands and also out of bags! There are plenty of notices asking you not to feed them as they are fed daily, but many people ignore this. Each ape is named, and it has a tattoo of it's name on the inside of it's leg. This helps the authorities to keep track of them, and to ensure their welfare.
Flying into Gibraltar can be dramatic... the 1 runway is pretty short. It also crosses the main road into the country from Spain. When a plane comes into land, barriers come across the road and the traffic stops! At each end of the runway, (which ends where the water meets the land) there are massive ramps to relaunch the plane - just incase it doesn't make the landing successfully!!!
Wonderful sunset over the mountains on the drive back.
