Most interesting Places I have visited

I have decided to do some postings on the most interesting places I have ever visited. For one reason or another, all of the places that I will include hold some element of special interest to me. These are not in any particular order or rank. The first one I will discuss is called the Rock of Gibraltar. I have included 4 short videos which include some of what I experienced the day I visited this intriguing place.

The "Rock" as they call it is an overseas territory of Britain that sits at the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula over the Strait of Gibraltar. I was truly captivated by the stature and sense of place that the Rock exudes as it towers over the surrounding countryside. When you are on top of the Rock, you can look over one side to the Atlantic Ocean and on the other side lies the Mediterranean. It is connected to Spain by a sandy isthmus and is only a short ferry ride from Morocco. It has been the subject of repeated conquests and sieges throughout its long history. The Rock boasts several fortresses, gates, tunnels, and over 100 caves are located within the limestone. Many of these were used to both defend and protect it from foreign invaders.

The town of Gibraltar is small, but it has some great sidewalk cafes and an eclectic mix of shops. As you walk the streets, you can hear many different accents as this is where European and African culture becomes intertwined. There is however, a very strong British presence here. Here are a few other unique things about this place. It has the only airport in the world which has a road that crosses the runway. The road has to be closed when aircraft are landing or departing. I experienced this firsthand as my friend and I were held up for a few minutes while getting ready to walk across the runway and cross back over into Spain. We had to wait a few minutes for a British Airways flight to take off before we could cross. One other unique aspect of the area is the presence of the Barbary Macaques or Apes. There are probably about 200 of these Rock apes that roam the cliffs high atop the Rock. They are the only free roaming primates in Europe. Winston Churchill played a large role in them being on the Rock. In fact, the apes were seen as a sort of mascot for the defense of the Rock in World War II. I have included some of my encounters with these magnificent animals on the videos. Thanks to my wife Estalita for helping me get these videos on the blog. Hope you enjoy.

Lights out.