"Gibralter, Spain 10th June"
"Pillars of Heracles was the ancient name of the strait, fourteen kilometers wide, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Modern scholars identify the northern promontory, Calpe, with the Rock of Gibraltar, while the southern pillar, Abilyx or Mons Abila, cannot be identified with any certainty. It is also interesting to note that the vertical lines on the dollar sign, which has its origins from the Spanish Dollar, represent the Pillar of Hercules. You can see the resemblance of Hercules to the figure standing next to the monument."
"This sequence of photos tells a funny story. The picture on the left shows a monkey with her baby outside the souvenir shop by the caves. As we were standing there she wandered into the shop with her baby still attached. At this point she looked warily at the shop assistant who had clearly not seen her and as quick as a flash she jumped up on to the Walls ice-cream cabinet at the back of the shop, slid the lid back and pinched two ice lollies, one in her mouth, the other in her hand, and skidaddled with her baby clinging on for dear life and the shop assistane picking up her broom to chase her off, far too late of course. She had obviously done this before but it gave us a good laugh."
"St Michael's caves were an unexpected surprise and well worth the visit. St Michael’s Cave was long believed to be bottomless and probably gave birth to the story that the Rock of Gibraltar was linked to Africa by a subterranean passage under the Strait of Gibraltar. The famous macaques (monkeys) were said to have come to Gibraltar through this subterranean passage. There have been many stories about the cave one of which recounts how a Colonel Mitchell and another officer were said to have descended into the cave circa 1840 and were never seen again. During WWII the cave was prepared as an emergency hospital, but was never used as such. In modern times, since the early sixties, the Cave has been in use as a theatre with capacity for 600 persons and has been used as an auditorium for ballet, concerts and drama. "
"Stalactites form when water containing dissolved calcium bicarbonate from the limestone rock drips from the ceiling of a cave. As the water comes into contact with the air, some of the calcium bicarbonate precipitates back into limestone to form a tiny ring, which gradually elongates to form a stalactite. A stalagmite is an upward-growing mound of mineral deposits that have precipitated from water dripping onto the floor of a cave. Most stalagmites have rounded or flattened tips. " 
"Looking down on Gibralter from the Rock."
"Macaque monkeys are everywhere in Gibralter, not just on the Rock. They have grown accustomed to humans over the years and are quite brazen as they come down into the town to look for food. We came back by bus and whilst we were waiting in the shelter a monkey jumped on the top of the shelter. Both monkeys and humans seem to totally ignore each other. Macaques in Gibraltar are the only wild monkeys in Europe today and visitors have to be warned of this fact as they can be quite vicious if provoked; a good friend of ours on an earlier trip was knocked over and hurt herself as a monkey tried to snatch her handbag. About 230 macaques live on the Rock of Gibraltar."
"Monkey eating his lunch off a clean plate (or is that pate?) with our driver Jamie who ultimately rescued Nick by enticing him away with a handful of peanuts (the monkey that is...LOL)."
"Do you see how lovingly the monkey is gazing into Nick's eyes?"
"The tip of the Rock on the left, on the right, mum, dad and baby."
"Gibralter airport. Note the way in which the runway projects into the sea across the road. When planes are landing or taking off, the road either side of the runway has to be closed. I think that's the national stadium (bottom left) - not quite Wembley!"
"Time to leave Gibralter girls."
"Leaving Gibralter."
"Gibralter Sail-Away party."
Our penultimate stop was the British principality of Gibralter which has been British since the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Spain has been trying to win Gibraltar back ever since in spite of the occupants voting to stay British. This was a new experience for all of us and as we only had 4 hours there was little time to do anything but try to see the Rock. We took the shuttle into the centre of the town and a very helpful man who had been there for 40 years showed us the bus to take to the cable car. Unfortunately, there were lengthy queues and we decided to use one of the taxis which proved to be a very good decision.
Our driver, Jamie, was able to explain a lot about the Rock and its history and also showed us how to deal with the monkeys. On one occasion, a monkey decided to eat his dinner sitting on top of Nick's head probably because he thought it was a clean plate due to the absence of hair; anyway after he'd finished his main course, Jamie offered him nuts and he left the table, the monkey that is, not Nick (LOL).
Jamie, who originally came from Scotland drove us back to the market where we took the shuttle to the ship. An interesting half day, perhaps not really long enough to see Gibralter properly but in all honesty there doesn't appear to be much there other than the Rock and the monkeys. Both the people we spoke to in length, however, have settled here for many years and seem to enjoy it so there must be something about the place to encourage this, although I'm not sure what it is!