6/11 Lee and I walked right into Gibraltar just by showing that we had a US passport - the passport was not even looked at. I guess they feel EU border control is sufficient. The entry to Gibraltar is very cool as you have to walk across the runway at the Gibraltar airport! I read where there are 10 flights a week at the airport and when a plane is landing or taking off crossing arms come down preventing pedestrians or cars from entering.

We walked quite a way before reaching the city walls in our journey to the cable car to the top . Lee and I found Main Street which was such a contrast to the Spain we had just left behind. The shops were all rather upscale and proper. There was a broad mix of languages being spoken but British English was certainly noticeable. Since Gibraltar is only 1 mile by 3 miles with a huge rock in the middle, streets are very narrow and parking at a premium. The result is thousands of scooters - everywhere.

Lee and I found the cable car but the tough decision was figuring out how to best spend our time. There are 2 basic options but then variations on each. The cable car goes to the top of the rock but 2 other big attractions are on opposite ends of the rock and you must walk to them. Lee had pondered running to the top and then walking down. The employee at the cable car told him he would have to pay a toll to go to the top even if he didn´t use the cable car. What a crock! We were short on time so we both took the cable car up with the basic A package.

When we reached the top we were immediately greeted by some of the famous apes of Gibraltar . They are actually monkeys that are very tame but quite aggressive in the quest for food. When the cable car stopped at the top a monkey immediately jumped on the bars of the car to see what was inside. They are pretty small but there are signs everywhere not to feed the monkeys and not to touch them since they can bite.

Lee and I explored the top of the rock and with just unbelieveable views. The sheer drop-off and height of the rock create the amazing effect I think. You are literally looking down at hotels and the whole city of Gibraltar along with a good chunk of Spain and the Atlas Mountains of north Africa.

The monkeys were always lingering and I had one jump on my backpack as I exited the gift shop. A good jerk and he let go though. I guess he was after Power Bars and trail mix. Later in our visit I had another monkey spring onto my backpack and he would absolutely not let go. I was turning in all different directions and trying to shake him off . I yelled at Lee to get him off but Lee didn´t have much luck since the monkey just would not let go as he tried to get in the backpack. After a fierce battle (we were fighting for Power Bars after all!) the monkey finally let go.

As we were walking around Lee encountered a woman who had walked to the top and not had to pay which just irritated Lee. It would have been very cool to run up the rock. We later saw several others either walking or running to the top. Lee decided to run down and we would meet at the bottom of the cable car. I just couldn´t get enough of the views. Unfortunately the only bus to Ronda left Gibraltar at 2:15pm so we couldn´t spend more time.

Running down the steep road was rough on Lee´s tender Achilles so he just ran/walked to the middle of the rock where the cable car also stops. I felt bad that Lee hadn´t been able to get a good run in since it was such a unique place to run. Just a loop around the rock would be neat. Gibraltar was definitely a great place to visit but we would have liked more time there.