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Cable Car
The cable car on the way up to The Top of The Rock.I got up early to indulge my photography back at Europa Point and I was not disappointed - it was a stunning sunrise and great light on the rocks and lighthouse. I traced the same route back to the hotel, which as not as spooky as the tunnel and not as steep as those stairs from yesterday.
It was still quite early so I went back to bed for a little while, although not for long as I was rudely awakened by the sound of a monkey. It had climbed on to our balcony, came through the open door into our room, opened the fridge, took out some chocolate, closed the fridge, gone back out onto our balcony and was proceeding to eat the chocolate. It was completely unphased and could not care less when we came out, just arrogantly looking down its nose at us. I am sure that if it knew how to give us the finger it would have done. Another monkey turned up and they started fighting over our chocolate.
Apparently the moneys are forever eating things that they shouldn't (i.e. our chocolate) to the extent that many are getting health problems such as diabetes.
Europa Point Sunrise
The sunrise viewed from Europa Point. The crime rate is supposed to be extremely low in Gibraltar, but I don’t know if that includes monkey related crime. We have heard that they take phones or wallets amongst other things, so I guess it could have been worse. We were just extremely unimpressed about the audacity of it coming into our room whilst we were asleep.
And it’s a good job I did see it as there would have been a serious blame-game going on when we discovered our chocolate missing.
The staff in the hotel were completely unsurprised by it when we were talking to them about it afterwards, probably thinking we were idiots for leaving the door open.
After breakfast, we headed to the cable car to go up to the top of the rock. The point where the cable car stops is actually called The Top of The Rock - much like the top of the Rockefeller Center in New York where I had managed to pick-up Covid a few weeks earlier (see
Closed and Dirty Stations, Beggars, Rubbish, Touts, Over-hyped Sweets, Zero Social Distancing and The Constant Smell of Weed, But We Love New York).
There were taxi tour touts around the base of the cable car, but we like to do our own thing and walk. There were various
Europa Lighthouse
The lighthouse in the early morning light. ticket options, including the trip up, the optional trip down and entry to the Nature Reserve. We went for all three (£34 each) and got wrist-bands to the Nature Reserve, which includes entry to all the various sites along the rock.
They really need to improve the information up there. There were some signs, but nowhere near enough to help you navigate round. It also became very clear, very quickly that there was going to be a lot of up and down involved, so some indication of the best route to follow would have been useful. There was a map that showed some walking routes, but they were alternatives rather than an all-encompassing route.
We didn't do ourselves any favours though. We tried one direction and then, after about half a mile, changed our minds and went back up the steep roads to the Top of The Rock and set off in the other direction, which seemed the better way to go. My advice is to head south first to the St Michael's Cave and the suspension bridge and then either head down or head to the north for the Great Siege and World War II tunnels.
Monkey Visitor
That's my f***ing chocolate. It was also quickly apparent that it would be more effort than it was worth to head back up to the Top of The Rock to get the cable car back down, so the best option was to just carry on down on foot. There is a mid-station on the cable car, but (rather inconveniently for us) it is closed from April to September.
Or, of course, you could get one of those taxi tours, which would be a lot less effort. We love walking, but it had moved to the wrong side of that boundary between a pleasurable stroll and tediously hard work. According to my watch, I had walked 8.6 miles and climbed the equivalent of 114 flights of stairs (although the latter included the walk to Europa Point and back).
The monkeys were everywhere and were treating everyone with contempt. They definitely and deliberately looked away every time someone tried to take their photos. They probably wanted paying before they would cooperate with a photo. One little girl was in floods of tears as a monkey had just taken an ice-lolly out of her hand. Two others were fighting and ended up jumping on to
Another Monkey Visitor
And you can p***-off as well. an unsuspecting boy's back, where they carried on fighting.
The rock is basically a huge fortress, actually, as is much of Gibraltar. There are various generations of cannons and guns all over the place. Spain has wanted Gibraltar back ever since it was first taken (and they still do) and, given its strategic location, it was also a target during World War II. The Great Siege Tunnel was used to fend-off an attack in the 1700s when the Spanish and French (any excuse to have a go at the British) joined forces to try and take it back. The tunnel led across the side of the rock, with a number of holes for all the cannons pointing towards Spain.
Now there are various radar installations all along the rock - presumably more focused on the Russians now and what they are up to through the Strait of Gibraltar.
The World War II tunnels are a small section of the 35 miles of tunnels that were dug into the rock during the war. Hard-hats are required as there are various low and narrow points where there is a risk of bumping your head. One piece of advice -
Breakfast With a View
Keeping a close guard in case anything goes missing. as well as the hat, pick up the audio tour on the way in. I didn't see them and it wasn't until I saw the signs at various locations telling you which audio segment to listen to that I realised I should have picked one up. I was able to listen to some segments when I got back to the entrance though.
The St Michael's Cave was amazing, all lit up in changing, multi-colours and featuring a show, where there were various projections on the rocks in time to some music. It was a nice opportunity to sit down and take a rest from all the walking.
The suspension bridge had my wife in fear of her life, although it was not too unstable - certainly better than that rope bridge near Vancouver (see
Precarious Bridges, Paths and Buses).
On the way down, I briefly stopped at the Moorish Castle. There was a beacon at the top, which I presume is getting ready for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
I got back to the hotel and was, again, ready for a well-earned beer. There were two beer taps, one serving Stella and the other a Spanish brand that I had not
The Rock
The actual top of the rock - military access only. heard of. I went for the Spanish brand, but, to my shock and horror, it was some sort of mix of red-wine and lemonade (basically Sangria). It was actually quite refreshing, so I decided not to question what kind of sick madmen put Sangria in a beer tap!?
After a rather disappointing meal down on the waterfront (some of what we ordered just never arrived) I walked back towards the airport for some more photography indulgence looking back at the rock, which is lit-up at night. The best views would be from the runway, but I was a little concerned that my tripod might attract a little bit of attention. What's the worst that could happen?
Before went to sleep, we made sure that the door to the balcony was well and truly closed so as to ensure that there were no more unwelcome guests.
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