Gibraltar

The rock

Last week, an hour before leaving, our director Jose asked us if we wanted to go to the other side of Spain for the weekend (he had to help a friend move). It was still Semana Santa, so there were no races anywhere in Spain for the team to do; the police don't approve any because the roads "are full" of people driving to family events, but I don't think they've seen our highways on Thanksgiving or Memorial Day.

So we went. Why not? Long car ride: taking naps, arguing about whether the universe exists without consciousness, reading, admiring how the Spanish seem to get by on so little food (bread, salty meat, cheese, oil being the standard bocadillo).

We explored a little bit at night, going to a few bars with Jose and his friends. Stayed up late enough to see light again.

Jose told us the city was one of the worst in Spain because it was the closest to Africa, and through all the wars with the Moros (Islamic) it was the first city to get sacked. So nowadays, it's an industrial town with the largest port operation in Europe (or so I was told). There were quite a few cranes, so I can believe it.

The pictures come from our visit to Gibraltar, which was the highlight. This rock is a relic of some past glacier that carved the Mediterranean Sea. It is also, to the constant annoyance of the Spanish, a colony of Britain. So we had to get our passports checked and all that. It's mostly a tourist destination, with plenty of shops and duty free stores, and even red British-style telephone booths for tourist photo opportunities. (Mom: No I didn't get my picture taken in one.) Rumors have it that the British have a submarine base underneath it. Not a bad strategic location, obviously.

There's a rickety chairlift that takes people to the top, but it was broken so we paid for a guide to drive us up in a van. Lots of very narrow switchbacks. I wish I had a picture of Sam's face when he read a sign on the side of the road that said, "Don't feed the monkeys." Yes, only God knows why, but there are monkeys living on this god-forsaken rock called Gibraltar. Some dumbass thought it was a good idea at some point.

At the top we did some picture taking, got a good look at Africa on the horizon, and marveled at the monkeys.

Me in staring contest

Sam with monkey

Might as well up an airport right there.