A little monkey business

Monkeyin' around on holiday in Spain!

I will begin by saying that we love Animal Planet.....and have talked about how cool it would be to do an African Safari someday.....well - that was until we met the monkeys in Gibraltar.  When you think of Gibralter - I think of the Rock of Gibraltar.  It is indeed a rock.....and it remains a British Colony which is quite fascinating as we parked on the Spanish side and walked across the border into the land of red phone booths!

  

We had heard a lot about the tours in Gibraltar and one thing the kids were dying to see were the monkeys.  As we walked across the border there was Paul just waiting for us.  It was a little like when you get off the plane in Mexico...and there are cars lined up along the street with tour guides everywhere....but we had a good feeling about Paul. (and we were right)  He was going to be our tour guide for the day.  We jumped in the car and off we went........Paul said that there will be several stops along the way....and the tour would last about 2 hours.  We began to climb the winding roads (with no side rails - who needs those, anyways) and took in the absolutely amazing scenery.  

One of our first stops was to take in St. Michael's Caves.  As Paul's car pulled up we could see the monkeys everywhere.  Sitting on the rails, in the trees, they were a little too close for comfort.....but being the strong, always optimistic, animal-loving mother that I am.....I said, 'oh aren't they cute so up close and personal'.  The kids were thrilled.  Paul told us that the pirates way back in history were the ones that brought the monkeys in on their ships.....and they have multiplied, multiplied and multiplied....and now they are the very famous monkeys of Gibraltar.  Paul did say that we shouldn't get too close....but some of the tour guides actually bring food with them so the monkeys can sit on their shoulders for a picture....now, I've had a parrot or two sit on my shoulder over the years....but I wasn't too keen on a monkey....and Paul was just fine with that...he wasn't an advocate of feeding the monkeys...as they have had some problems in the town...where the monkeys associate any plastic bag with food...and they come down from the top of the rock and attack people in town.  We got out of the car....snapped a few photos and took in the caves!  I will admit that as I walked through the dark, damp caves (which were amazing) I kept thinking that one of those darn monkeys was following me......

 When we finished touring the caves, there was a little gift shop on they way out....everyone was a little hungry and just needed a little pick me up....take a look at the sign below.

As Americans that don't often see Hershey bars and Reese's peanut butter cups too often these days......we opened the fridge and just couldn't decide.  Caleb grabbed a Hershey bar....and all I remember is looking over at Caleb and seeing this monkey the size of him come in and in a blink snatch it out of his hand....the storekeeper came in with a stick and tried to 'shoo' it away.  Caleb's color drained from his face.....the rest of us just stood there completely stunned.....and slammed the fridge closed.  Enough of the monkeys.....they were cute from the car...but not so cute so close up!  Luckily it did not break the skin on Caleb's hand - but definitely left a little red mark...which he is proud to show off to his buds at school.  A story that will remain to be told for many, many years.  The photo below is Caleb holding a stuffed monkey.....you can see the color in his face (or lack there of)...and the next picture is the 'culprit' on top of Paul's car!  As you can see we did get one family picture on the top of the rock.....you can see a monkey off to the right. Noah kept his distance...and our animal-loving Hannah got a little too close (even for Paul's comfort).

It is amazing to think that Morocco is only 15 kilometers away from Gibraltar.  A 35 minute ferry ride.  You can see the continent in the picture.  When I think of Morocco I think of Aladdin at Epcot...so to see it like this is amazing.

The picture below was taken the next day.....just so none of you are worried about Caleb and the monkey attack...he is no worse for the wear.

We are so lucky to have the possibility to travel, and are coming to truly appreciate what it is to 'holiday' in Europe.  I fell in love with Spain.....I have always loved Mexico...but Spain may be my new favorite.  Maybe it's the language....you just can't say 'hola' without a smile. The Spanish language and the Spanish sunshine is just good for the soul.  Dinner is eaten at 9 or 10 at night......and the workday does not begin before 9:30 or 10:00 - ain't too shabby.  I took a picture of the streets in Old Marbella....all the places to eat....a cute little old man strumming the ukelehle.

 Another place we explored was Ronda.  It is a white village - all the homes are white - they are on extremely narrow streets so that on the hot days they get some shade.  We took the tour with Frank.  The kids loved the jeep....and we all loved Frank....The oldest bull fighting ring in Spain is in Ronda....happy to say that a bull fight was not on the agenda.  They harvest chestnuts and cork in the little villages before you get to Ronda....there is no internet, really no modern conveniences.....and the white villages outside of Ronda have about 200 residents.  One of the villages we toured is in the 'blue zone' - people work hard....and live long lives.  They go out into the field and pick chestnuts.....they make about 10,000 euro a month for two months...and they live on that......it's an amazing place. 

Frank took us to his friend's restaurant for lunch.  It was in a tiny village...with one school with 10 students in it.  Of course...not a meal goes by without a little sangria....and a little tapas.  

Being in Spain just before Easter was great.  In each village they have nightly processionals.  We were told that 60% of Spain is Catholic and the other 40% is Agnostic.  We were able to see the Processional in Old Town Marbella one night.  People lined the streets outside of one of the churches......it was almost so packed you couldn't move.

 You can see from the picture that we were a little nervous not knowing what to expect.  There were soldiers that walked right next to us armed to the nines....and lead the processional through old town.  It started at 8:00pm - and proceeds through the village until 4am.

The pictures don't really do the experience justice.  The 'floats' depict the Passion of the Christ.....hundreds of men lift the 'floats' which are gold trimmed and lined with so many flowers.....language barrier precluded us from understanding the words.....but of course we know and cherish the story.......and when the crowd said the Lord's Prayer in unison.....in Spanish....it was breath-taking.  It was worth all the claustrophobic moments.....and having dinner at 10:00....as it's something our family will never forget and presented many teachable moments with the kids.

We may not be planning on seeing monkeys any time soon.....but traveling to Spain is good for the soul! (and the disposition for a wife who has moved to Germany just 3 months earlier........oh, some vitamin d)