December 9, 2016 - A Monkey on a Rock

David Letterman always used to say something like "I wouldn't give his problems to a monkey on a rock." The Monkey:  It's a tailless monkey - a macaque, to be exact. Also known as Barbary Apes, they are not really apes. There are 250 of them. They have been inoculated against everything that could be transmitted to humans. They have been chipped and they have birth control implants.  The fine for feeding them is £500. AS a result, they don't crowd around you like pigeons expecting a handout. They do not run away from you either. Mostly they ignre you, just like cats. The Rock: You know this rock. It is "iconic," to use an over-used word. It is mostly limestone and is full of caves and tunnels. Gibraltar: Gibraltar is a territory of the UK. It is a small bit of land and rock (2.6 square miles) on the end of a little peninsula at the southernmost tip of Spain. It is 14.7 miles from Morrocco. The population is around 30,000. They speak English and Spanish. About 7,000 to 8,000 workers from Spain cross the border each day. The currency here is the British pound, but your change is given in Gibraltarian pounds, which are not accepted anywhere else in the world. In the morning we walked through the main streets of the town. It is a duty-free shopping area and there are a lot ofstores selling jewelry, cosmetics, and alcohol. There are a lot of resturants selling fish and chips. There are a lot of souvenir shops selling cheesy monkeys. There are a few red British phone booths. There are some bakeries selling "japonesas," doughnuts filled with cream. There are some British department stores such as Marks & Spencer. There are some churches, at least one mosque, four synagogues, a couple of kosher restaurants, and a Jewish day school.  I noticed a lot of older folks walking around in the main street (and they were not from our ship). I noticed several dress shops selling clothing that someone my age would wear. I wondered if most of the young people moved away. I later found out my theory was wrong. There is no unemployment in Gibralter, hence the large number of Spanish workers. Most of the jobs are white-collar, in industries such as banking and on-line gaming. Carl, our tour guide, met us in the Market Square after we had walked around for a few hours. He was from Inside-Out Rock Tours. He drove five of us around in a van and barraged us with facts and dates about his hometown.  After seeing the airport and driving across the runway to get to the Spanish border we proceeded to St. Michael's Cave. It is a large cave inside the Rock, filled with stalactites and a concert hall - a drippy, damp, concert hall. We made many stops on the tour to take photos and admire the view from various points on the Rock. We saw the Great SIege Tunnels, first used during the Great Siege of 1779-1783, but also used during WWII. Of course we stopped for an interaction with the monkeys. We also stopped to see a 100-ton gun, Europa Point lighthouse, ruins of a Moorish castle, and the Pillars of Hercules. The weather wasn't great so we could just barely see mountains off in the distance, which purported to be Africa. Back to the ship at 4:15, just in time for our 4:30 "all aboard." I was not anxious because we were never very far from the ship in this tiny town. After dinner we saw Brenda Cochran perform. It was the same show she did on our first cruise segment, but we enjoyed it very much, and she received a standing ovation. Shabbat Shalom!