Rock of Gibraltar

June 25, 2018: We woke up late per usual after another late bedtime. Breakfast in the hotel and set out for Gibraltar around 9:15. I had studied some info about the logistics and nothing I learned turned out to be true. We parked the car in Spain and walked over the border. Went through passport control and into the UK territory of Gibraltar. We took a bus into town near the base of the rock. One interesting thing is you cross the airport’s runway on the bus, just as you would crossing a major street. The town is cool to see with the old sea walls still in place. We got off the bus and started heading uphill. We quickly found the Union Jack Staircase and up we went.

The kids were enthralled with the wild apes on the mountain. They make the tourists act nutty; with some taking insane risks getting so close for the ultimate selfie. Crazy considering the warnings of attacks. We kept the kids far enough to feel safe about it. When we had to pass one or two on a tight stairwell we felt nervous but turned out ok. We hiked all over the rock exploring all sorts of gun batteries, suspension bridges, and ape hideouts. It was a hazy day but we could make out Africa from the top and the incredible views of the bay and all the container ships. We had lunch by the gun at the top and then descended via the Mediterranean Steps. The entire circuit from the bus stop took us 5 hours. The kids did a great job. We got back to Spain and they played on an awesome rope playground with Gibraltar in the background. Then we drive north to Seville. We found our pensione and headed out into the streets to watch the end of the Spain-Morocco World Cup match at an outdoor cafe. Everyone is exhausted but it’s hard to get to bed early here.