Monkey See, Monkey Do

An early wake up call was in order for our trip to Gibraltar. The eight of us were at the bus station by 6:45 and we were on our way by the top of the hour. After a three hour ride and a much needed nap, we pulled in towards Algeciras. As I woke up I noticed someone wearing a Virginia Tech hat sitting directly in front of me. Naturally I assumed it was one of my friends, but at a second glance I realized it was a man, well into his 60's with a thick white beard. Clearly it wasn't a student. I couldn't help but strike up a conversation. It turns out the gentleman is in fact a Virginia Tech graduate. He and his wife were visiting their son and provided us with some tips for our trip to Gibraltar. I am still amazed by how many Hokies there are around the world. What are the chances we would meet one on a bus from Sevilla to Algeciras at seven in the morning?

We stopped briefly in Algeciras to switch buses to La Linea. We arrived a bit after eleven and our adventure began. We took a tour with a native Gibraltarian, named Jacky. He was born there and has been giving tours for 42 years. We made our way up the mountain and our first stop gave us a view of the continent of Africa across the water. We waved to our friends teaching at the Bambakofi Academy in Kenya and then continued up the mountain.

Our next stop was St. Michael's Cave, a limestone cave in Gibraltar.

Finally we reached the main attraction, the apes. One of the main reasons we made the trip was for the opportunity to play with monkeys. The apes were not shy, as they climbed atop the cars and practically posed for pictures. After about fifteen minutes we were forced to continue down the mountain for our final stop, the Great Siege Tunnels. We explored for a bit before returning back to our mission. 

We hiked about 40 minutes back up the mountain to a less touristy spot of the mountain known for being home to lots of monkeys. Upon arriving, we were greeted by two large monkeys, who pounced at Taylor who was holding a shopping bag filled with snacks from the bus. Within seconds the monkeys had torn open the bag, sorted through his clothes, and were eating his chocolate chip cookies and Kit-Kat Bar. It was clearly not this monkey's first Kit-Kat Bar, as it was breaking each bar off as demonstrated in the commercials. After the monkeys had devoured every morsel, Trip attempted to clean up the wrappers, only to be attacked by one of the parent monkeys. It ran at him from behind and shoved him in the back of the knee. Trip took the hint, and kept his distance.

Top (from left): Me, Madison, Dana, Ashley
Bottom: Justine, Jenny, Taylor, Trip

Having made the hike to the top, we all wanted pictures with the monkeys. We observed that the monkeys liked the olives and flowers growing nearby and picked a few to lure them in. Soon we had befriended the monkeys as the babies were climbing onto our laps and even jumped on Dana and Taylor's shoulders. Dana seemed to be the most well liked by the monkeys, as they spent the most time with her. While Taylor's new friend was perched on his shoulder, it stole his sunglasses and ran into the trees. Apparently one of the adult monkeys thought Trip was going to intervene, as it jumped on him and scratched his elbow. 

Eventually we made our way down the mountain, after I made friends with one of the monkeys as well. We returned to the city center and made our way back across the border after lunch. 

That evening we went out with Carolyn in Sevilla, and I was again reminded of how small the world really is. Upon walking into the bar, I ran into my friend from Spring Hill Elementary School, Josh Sklar who is studying in Sevilla. It was a great surprise.

Our next planned stop was Lisbon, Portugal. Our plans had to be adjusted a bit as the overnight train was booked, giving us a bonus stop in Madrid. Stay tuned! Hasta luego!