Well we started out with a rainy foggy day for our drive to Gibraltar. Tom and I got on the bus at 7:20am and Sharon and Ed were spending the day here because they went there last year.
We drove till 8:30 and did the customary coffee/bathroom stop, then continued on to Gibraltar . We arrived at 9:30 and had to wait for a longer time than normal to get from Spain into Gibraltar a colony of England but does not belong to the EU. Finally at 10:05 the border guard comes on the bus and looks at our passports and theN we drive into Gibraltar. Pretty simple and getting out was even easier.
Gibraltar is 6 sq km with a population of 30,000 and 3000 people come from Spain to work every day.There are 90,000 different businesses, it is a TAX HAVEN for the rich and famous. There are approximately 21,000 British, 6,000, Arabs from Morocco and 3,000 military people. Gibraltar has taken 140 years to make the extra land that they have built more homes and businesses on. The land is outside of the original walls that were built to protect it.
Once we got on the Rock we got on a much smaller bus that took us up to the natural reserve and got to see the Barbary Macaques (monkeys, they call them apes). One even crawled onto the top of the bus when we were stopped. It is cool and misty out with rain off and on but we are still enjoying ourselves. It is illegal to feed them or touch them, but they are kinda cute.
Then we got a tour around to show us the port where the main business of the Rock is now fixing ships. There were lots of ships coming and going. We stopped to see the big mosque, light house with the Rock in the background. Then we looked out over the sea to see Morocco, Africa, not very far away. It would of been much nicer if the weather had been more co operative, but it was still very interesting to see .
Then we drove up to see the World War II Tunnels in the Rock, they have been historically important for years. Not exactly sure why, did not totally understand the guide. There is more than 52 km of tunnels below and only 32 km of roads up top. The tunnels were built from July 1940 to March 1943. We got to walk through 140 meters of the tunnels to glimpse what life must have been like to be down there. This is where I am again foggy on the details but she said that people (not sure who) were told that life would be wonderful to come and help build the tunnels, they would only have to work for 8 hrs a day. NOT they worked for 8 hrs digging tunnels and 8 hours moving food around to keep it from being destroyed by the rats and moisture. There were 300 women (nurses) and the rest of the 10,000 population was soldiers and citizens (men). The men got to leave once a week to take a swim in the sea. We were also told they had fresh water and salt water taps, they still do even today. Salt water is used to flush the toilets etc.  
Some parts of the tunnels were built with the help of Canadians, in these tunnels you will find the general military base, 3 hospitals and rooms that held the men and women. Only a fraction of the tunnels are open to the public, the other parts are still used by the military. She said even some of our Canadian Military came here to train in the tunnels before they went to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban in their tunnels . We came out from the tunnels to look down over the city. We could see for miles. Just below we saw the airport, the base and the HUGE GRAVEYARD for such a small area of land.
Next we drove to the central square and had lunch and some free time. Of course we had fish and chips and then checked out the stores. It was like shopping in the airport, jewelry, liquor, high end clothing. Never sure who buys this stuff.  
We got rain off and on through out the day but we even had some times when the sun broke through. On the drive back we stopped again in Marbella and checked out the Marble Square and the sculptures of a famous Spanish Artist named Salvador Dali. They were pretty crazy, not something I would buy, probably couldn't afford one anyway LOL.
Then got to watch the fountain turn on, then walked back to the bus. On the boulevard they have potted flowers that they change with the season, now it is poinsettias and white flowers. Another wonderful day, got back made supper and met the Behnke's for happy hour.  
They had a good day going up to see the Pueblo, it is the old part of Benalmadena. Tomorrow we are going back to check out Malaga, but go in the afternoon so that we can see the Christmas light come on in the evening with music. Should be fun.
NIGHT and HUGS