To see a 'screen-sized' (1024x768) version of a photo, click
on the thumbnail photo. To see the much-larger original file, click on the JPG file name above the thumbnail.
- gib_sunrise.jpg
It remains cool to have a view out from the room. Since we always arrive by early morning, you wake up to see something different every port. This morning, it was sunrise over the Rock of Gibraltar.
- fort_flag_qm2.jpg
Britain hangs on to Gibraltar because of this: it's a big, unbombable (probably nuclear-proof, even) mountain of limestone that can bombard the crucial entrance to the Mediterranean. It's been strategically important since about 700, when it was used as staging to take over Spain for the Arabs.
- gib_otherside_bldgs.jpg
When we climbed the Rock and got that shot, we were able to look over to the other side, and at the military installations on the other two peaks. And see clear to Africa.
- leaving_qm2.jpg
It's certainly not a sea port, or naval base. The harbour won't support large ships. It was the other port where we had to be ferried to the docks on QM2's eight little tenders, shown here, from our trip out in another tender.
- monkey_railing.jpg
At the top, everybody goes mad photographing and (quite illegally, 500-pound fine) feeding the local monkeys, protected by the government.
- monkey_cannon_qm2.jpg
They hang around everywhere, and have to be watched - they'll steal food or plastic bags right from your hands, or pockets. And can become aggressive.
- apts_up_gib.jpg
How do you climb the Rock of Gibraltar? Not like the Rockies. It's all paved. First, you find your way up the switchbacked road above the main square, through the levels of apartments, and finally (expensive, no doubt) private homes above them. You could go all the way up to the top walking the road, but you have to keep dodging the constant traffic of cars and little tour vans, barely narrower than the road. So we were looking for the stairs...
- apt_walkway.jpg
...and a couple of times, picked stairs that only led up to apartments accesible only from below, not the switchback above. The lower ones with little views aren't the priciest, they appear to be mostly the Spaniards that do most of the dirty work around the town.
- stairs_from_sea.jpg
These are the stairs we were looking for, and finally found, way above the apartments and most of the private homes that cling to the mountainside. Just a lot of stairs.
- up_the_stairs.jpg
The first "flight" looks like this from below. We took deep breaths, some water, and hiked up.
- monkey_on_stairs.jpg
...only to find, a heartbreaking storey or two from the top of the first flight, a monkey on the very narrow steps, sleeping. When I made a noise, he looked at me grumpily and laid his head back down. Hmmm.. STEPPING OVER a basically wild animal with no fear of man, rather exposed to any irritated response.
- back_down_stairs.jpg
We chickened out and went back down many storey's worth of steps and spent 15 minutes going around it on the switchback road, and went back on the stairs. One "flight" of a hundred-and-many feet went by with no incident.
- monkey_grooming.jpg
The last "flight", though, was extra long, maybe 20 storey's worth. And just steps from the top, TWO monkeys, one grooming the other. There's no telephoto on this picture. I took it from perhaps an arm's length away. After a long time taking photos, indeed a little monkey-grooming movie suitable for Discovery channel, talking, and edging forward and being ignored, I took a deep breath and stepped slowly and smoothly over her. He affected not to notice. So I turned around and did another little movie of Connie doing the same. No doubt we didn't have to chicken out over the first monkey, they only get aggressive over food or being poked at, apparently. But it sure seemed the right thing to do at the time.
It remains cool to have a view out from the room. Since we always arrive by early morning, you wake up to see something different every port. This morning, it was sunrise over the Rock of Gibraltar. 
Britain hangs on to Gibraltar because of this: it's a big, unbombable (probably nuclear-proof, even) mountain of limestone that can bombard the crucial entrance to the Mediterranean. It's been strategically important since about 700, when it was used as staging to take over Spain for the Arabs. 
When we climbed the Rock and got that shot, we were able to look over to the other side, and at the military installations on the other two peaks. And see clear to Africa. 
It's certainly not a sea port, or naval base. The harbour won't support large ships. It was the other port where we had to be ferried to the docks on QM2's eight little tenders, shown here, from our trip out in another tender. 
At the top, everybody goes mad photographing and (quite illegally, 500-pound fine) feeding the local monkeys, protected by the government. 
They hang around everywhere, and have to be watched - they'll steal food or plastic bags right from your hands, or pockets. And can become aggressive. 
How do you climb the Rock of Gibraltar? Not like the Rockies. It's all paved. First, you find your way up the switchbacked road above the main square, through the levels of apartments, and finally (expensive, no doubt) private homes above them. You could go all the way up to the top walking the road, but you have to keep dodging the constant traffic of cars and little tour vans, barely narrower than the road. So we were looking for the stairs... 
...and a couple of times, picked stairs that only led up to apartments accesible only from below, not the switchback above. The lower ones with little views aren't the priciest, they appear to be mostly the Spaniards that do most of the dirty work around the town. 
These are the stairs we were looking for, and finally found, way above the apartments and most of the private homes that cling to the mountainside. Just a lot of stairs. 
The first "flight" looks like this from below. We took deep breaths, some water, and hiked up. 
...only to find, a heartbreaking storey or two from the top of the first flight, a monkey on the very narrow steps, sleeping. When I made a noise, he looked at me grumpily and laid his head back down. Hmmm.. STEPPING OVER a basically wild animal with no fear of man, rather exposed to any irritated response. 
We chickened out and went back down many storey's worth of steps and spent 15 minutes going around it on the switchback road, and went back on the stairs. One "flight" of a hundred-and-many feet went by with no incident. 
The last "flight", though, was extra long, maybe 20 storey's worth. And just steps from the top, TWO monkeys, one grooming the other. There's no telephoto on this picture. I took it from perhaps an arm's length away. After a long time taking photos, indeed a little monkey-grooming movie suitable for Discovery channel, talking, and edging forward and being ignored, I took a deep breath and stepped slowly and smoothly over her. He affected not to notice. So I turned around and did another little movie of Connie doing the same. No doubt we didn't have to chicken out over the first monkey, they only get aggressive over food or being poked at, apparently. But it sure seemed the right thing to do at the time.