Mediterranean, Monkeys, and Mountains

Monday morning dawned clear and a bit chilly as we packed up and schlepped our suitcases downstairs to catch a taxi to the bus station.

We were off to Malaga and the bus had the most direct route. The bus station was not as nice as the train station, but compared to some you see in the states, it wasn’t bad. And the bus itself was very clean and comfortable, but a bit cramped in the legroom department.

Nevertheless, we made it and were even able to catch a few ZZ’s on the trip, although I hated to close my eyes in case I missed something beautiful.

We arrived at our hotel and were pleasantly surprised by the view of the Mediterranean Sea from our balcony. We took a few minutes to just bask in the sun and salt air while deciding what to do first. We set out on foot to explore the immediate area around the hotel, then decided to have a siesta before getting ready for dinner.

The next morning we were up and out of the hotel early, ready to see Malaga. As we navigated the Malaga bus system, we learned that it is imperative to get on a bus, even if it is the right route number, that is going in the direction you want to go. If not, you end up somewhere you don’t want to be, standing on a sidewalk while the bus driver takes a break! Then you have to pay again to get back on the bus after it turns around and heads in the right direction. So, having learned that valuable lesson, we finally made it to the downtown area about an hour after we started out.

One of the coolest things on the main pedestrian mall was a library stand and several flower stalls that smelled divine as we passed by. We spent most of the day exploring the city before we headed back to the hotel and a walk on the beach.

We decided to rent a car for our excursions to Gibraltar and Tarifa, so after arranging that with the hotel – so easy- we began planning our little side trip. After realizing the distance between the hotel and our destinations, we decided to book a hotel in Tarifa for the next night so we didn’t have to drive back and forth as much.

The rental car arrived at the hotel at 9:30 the next morning, so it was a little after 10 before we were able to hit the road. Driving in Spain was easy once we got out of town, and I highly recommend it if you can. There is just so must beauty and we were able to drive through lovely towns and countryside, stopping when we wanted. We arrived at Gibraltar, parked in a public lot and prepared to walk across the border. We decided to grab some lunch before lining up for the crossing, and had a terrible time because apparently few restaurants serve lunch before 1300. Ugh. We finally found a bite, then headed to Great Britain  for the day.

Our main goal was the top of Gibraltar, so we caught a bus to the cable car terminal, loaded in the car with about 20 other people, and were at the top before we knew it.

As soon as we stepped on to the viewing platform, we were greeted by a couple of the Macaque apes that live on the rock. One of the little buggers tried to take a shopping bag away from one of the other passengers, and it became quite a scuffle with her trying to keep her bag.

The views from the top of Gibraltar are truly breathtaking. You can see miles of ocean and hundreds of ships. We spent a few minutes taking in the view from all angles, then began our trek back down the mountain through the nature reserve.

First, let me just say the apes are everywhere. There are around 200 of them living on the top part of the mountain, and they are not the least bit shy. You have to be careful because they will steal things from you. And you can’t touch them, because they bite. However, there are no rules about the monkeys touching people, and one juvenile jumped on Natalie’s back as we were walking by. She shrieked, I started waving my water bottle at it to shoo it away, and the goofy thing grabbed Natalie’s braid and used it to swing off her back into a tree! After the shock wore off, we both wished we had the whole thing on video.

The rest of our walk was pretty uneventful compared to that, but so beautiful. We were unable to go inside the WW II tunnels as they were closed for repair, but we saw everything else the reserve had to offer, including the battery, the Skywalk, the Moorish castle and St. Michael’s cave. And honestly, if you go and only have time for one attraction, St. Michael’s cave is incredible.  There are some fantastic formations and it’s all highlighted by lights. Truly enchanting!

As we neared the bottom of the reserve road, we walked down about a million steps back in to the main part of town, which dropped us smack in a shopping center. Pretty smart placement, as everyone who comes off the mountain has to go through this area to get back to the border.

And, oh my, the shops! There was everything from cheap souvenir stores to high-end jewelry and perfume shops. And boy, did I score! I found my favorite French perfume, which is stupidly expensive in the U.S., for less that half the price. Lucky me!

We stopped to rest our feet and have a refreshment before heading back to the car.

The journey down the mountain is about 4 kilometers, but since we wanted to see EVERYTHING, we ended up walking close to six miles as we made our way down through all the cool attractions and back across the border.

Back in the car, we set a course for Tarifa and more adventures.