Gibraltar

We didn’t spend our entire Spanish vacation driving around and adventuring – there were definitely a few days spent lounging luxuriously by the pool and on the beach. But I don’t know how interested you are in hearing about that: First I tanned on my back, then I tanned on my stomach, then I ate some icecream, then I frolicked in the waves, repeat.ALTHOUGH, I did have one notable moment! I went into the Mediterranean sea TOPLESS! It’s very common to see women tanning topless on Mediterranean beaches, but I’ve never had the chance to partake. There’s no way I’d do it on a family vacation, and then when I was studying in the South of France, I didn’t want to be topless on the beach with my classmates, and then have to see them in school. Awkward. But while on vacation with Linda? Perfect opportunity! And she totally encouraged me to do it, which felt great! Wahoo! It felt so freeing to swim basically naked in broad daylight hehe. I can cross that off the bucket list.So besides our beach days, we had another adventure to Gibraltar. Successfully this time! We had learned our lesson, and dutifully brought our passports with us the second time. We left early in the morning, and had some bad luck with the weather. Unfortunately it was extremely cloudy, and we couldn’t even see the top of the rock at one point. Nevertheless, we trekked on and decided to make our way up anyway. I was surprised at how unorganized Gibraltar seemed to be – the street signs were not very helpful for tourists, and Linda and I spent a good deal of time wandering around before we found the gondolas to take us up. Even though Gibraltar is under British rule, you can totally see the Spanish influence!I was most excited to see the monkeys. When we got to the top I was blown away! There were so many monkeys everywhere, and I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. Because it was so cloudy, we couldn’t see over the edge of the rock, but clouds and fog were literally billowing up over the fortified edge and gates. It was very cool. So although I didn’t get to see Africa from up there (on a clear day you can see directly across the strait!), it was still an unbelievable experience.I was also the luckiest tourist. We had been warned explicitly not to touch the monkeys, as they get stressed out from human contact. I tried to keep a safe distance from them, but I think one of them really had a crush on me…Besides the monkeys, I also got to see some incredible rock formations in St. Michael’s Cave. Apparently concerts and performances are held in the cavern – when I was walking through I saw how the stage and seats are set up and it looked amazing. I can’t even imagine how cool it would be to see some opera amongst the creepy stalactites and stalagmites. You know what, I kind of felt like I was in some biblical scene from Hell.Linda and I certainly got our workout in, walking up and down for hours. We decided to take the gondola back down and reward ourselves with some fish and chips. So I kind of felt like I had visited Sweden, Spain, AND England on my trip :)We walked around the small city and admired all the architecture, which seems to be blended from many different eras. Light and bright pastels are everywhere, as are dark and dingy pubs. Gibraltar uses its own currency, and mostly everyone speaks Spanish and English. On our way back into Spain, we had to cross a giant tarmac where planes take off. It was so bizarre! I’ve never walked across an airplane runway before, and probably never will again unless I make it to Gibraltar in the future...Next up, a Spanish market and another gondola ride…