Gibraltar

In high season the border crossing from Spain into Gibraltar, which is British territory, can take hours. There was plenty of space for busses and cars to wait, but we zipped right across. Another complication is that the access road crosses the airport runway. The planes have precedence!

Although Gibraltar was ceded "in perpetuity" to Britain in 1713, Spain continues to assert sovereignty over the territory. Nevertheless, the inhabitants choose to remain a British dependency.

Looking across the Bay of Gibraltar (or Bahía de Algeciras, depending on your perspective) toward the Spanish port of Algeciras. We will depart from this port for Morocco on the following day.

The jetty at the base of the mountain is part of an extensive British repair station for naval vessels.

One of the reasons to travel all the way to the top of the rock is to see the resident Barbary macaques. While I was taking this picture, Sue was very anxious that I get it over with so that she could move away from the critter (she wasn't actually standing close to it in spite of the appearance). They could be aggressive to be sure and were very agile. A little later one jumped on my back from quite a distance away! No harm done to me or monkey although it was QUITE startling.

Hamming it up for the tourists.

We rode to the top of the rock in taxis, but it is possible to climb these intimidating Mediterranean Steps. At the time of our visit they were posted as unfit for use, but have since been repaired.

There is also a cable car to the top.

Make no mistake about it, Gibraltar is British. And in the tourist business. At regular times during the day there is a "changing of the guard" with red-coated regalia.

On our way back to our hotel, we made a stop in one of the resort cities to dip our toes in the Mediterranean. I expect this beach is a bit more crowded during "the season."