Day trip to Gibraltar!

(The big rock in Gibraltar!)

I just got back from a day trip to Gibraltar, it was so much fun! From Sevilla it is about a 2.5 hour drive. I went with the Discover Sevilla group ( the same group I went on the trip with for Morocco). I did not know much about Gibraltar but for those of you who don't know, Gibraltar is owned by England. So in the town everyone speaks English, which was a nice change! It was pretty neat to be able to drive 2.5 miles away and be in an English speaking "country"! In the tour we went to St. Michael's cave and we went to Europa point (the southern most part of Europe) It was really windy today but it was cool to be able to be by the ocean. We then stopped in the Monkey's den. In this part you can play with the monkeys and try to get them to come on your shoulders. We had some pretty playful monkeys, I even got a monkey to come on my head! We saw monkey's doing random things like scratching eachother, playing around, and even doing their "monkey business"! It was intense. After we played with the monkeys for a while we were dropped off at the main square where there are a variety of restarants and shops. We went to a place with fish and chips (although I got a burger) and we had lunch there. While we were eating the fire alarm started going off for a good 30 mins so we all got 2 free rounds of drinks! So that was pretty sweet. After lunch we walked around at the gift shops and I got an amazing milkshake, yuum it wasso soo good!

Here are some of the pics...

I felt bad for one girl because a monkey peed on her while he was sitting on her, I would have been so grossed out! The monkey's are so friendly, they were jumping on the vans and trying to come in the window of our tour guide because he had peanuts. At one point the Monkey was in our van trying to get food from our driver, ive never seen that before!

Here are a few more cute pictures of the Monkeys, just Monkeying around.

This next picture is of my friends and I at Europa point- the most southern part of Europe!

The trip was so much fun! I am so glad that I was able to go and experience that. I am loving all of the things that I am being able to see while I am here. That is all for now but...

Here is some extra information about Gibraltar if you want to know more about it:

About Gibraltar

Gibraltar is famous worldwide for its dramatic Rock. It is located in a strategic position at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It overlooks the Straits of Gibraltar and is linked to Spain by a narrow isthmus.

Gibraltar is imposing but small. It measures less than six square kilometers in total. It is inhabited by around 30,000 people made up of Gibraltarians, British, Moroccans, Indians and Spanish. There is also a colony of the famous apes, the only ones in Europe to run free in a semi-wild state.

Due to Gibraltar's unique geographical position it is very diverse. The official language is English, but natives are typically bi-lingual, speaking Spanish as fluently as English. It is not unusual to hear languages of neighboring areas such as Arabic and Portuguese. Italian and Russian are not uncommon tongues in these parts either.

When people think of the history of Gibraltar they often think in terms of the bloody 18th century sieges when Spain tried to regain the Rock from the British. However, the history of Gibraltar very much reflects that of the Mediterranean and it could indeed be argued that it reflects that of man himself.

The Rock

When you first see the Rock of Gibraltar, it is its impressive stature, towering isolated above the surrounding countryside that causes the greatest impact. Gibraltar is a beacon which signals the position of the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow neck which separates Europe from Africa and provides the only link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. So why is Gibraltar, a lump of limestone, so different from the surrounding countryside? It all has to do with events which took place long before any kind of human had appeared on the face of the earth. The first thing to remember is that limestone is made up of millions of small shelled animals which have died and settled in the sea bed; slowly these shells harden and become rock. So another point to remember is that when you walk on the Rock you are stepping on an ancient sea bed! Many still refer to Gibraltar as an island. Historically, biologically, even politically it has been an island even in recent times, but physically it is a peninsula.

Europa Point

The first stop on our tour is Europa Point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar, and the home to the lighthouse. The first thing you’ll notice as we make our stop here is the beautiful views of the Northern coast of Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar.