SPAIN - Gibraltar, Marbella, Ronda, and Granada

 From Sevilla we departed via bus to Gibraltar.  This small territory of the United Kingdom is an unusual place.  Part of the Kingdom of Spain from 1462, it was ceded to the British in 1713 after the War of the Spanish Succession.  It is located at the southern tip of Spain and is a major passage point for ship traffic moving from the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.  Spain and Gibraltar form the northern land mass of the straits and Africa forms the southern land mass.  At its narrowest point the strait is approx. 15 miles wide.  Ships needing to enter the Mediterranean Sea must either pass through the "Strait" or go all the way around the bottom of the African continent.  Needless to say, whomever controls this area, controls a major, strategic shipping channel.

Geography of Strait of Gibraltar

The land mass of Gibraltar is only about 2.6 square miles of land and much of it is occupied by the "Rock of Gibraltar".  This steeply sloping rock reaches 1,398 feet in height.  The town is located along the western base of the rock and there are approximately 30,000 residents.  The official language is English, but many residents also speak Spanish.  To visit Gibraltar one must go through customs and immigration as you are traveling from the country of Spain into the UK.  This is exactly what we did for our visit there.

The "Rock of Gibraltar"

View out onto part of the Strait of Gibraltar

Closer view of "The Rock"

Lighthouse on Gibraltar

Within "The Rock" there are approximately 34 miles of tunnels constructed mostly by the British Army for military purposes.  These tunnels were started in the late 1700s.  The largest expansion of the tunnels was during the 1900s when they could accommodate 16,000 men, their supplies and ammunition as well as equipment needed in the event of an extended siege.  All tunneling ceased in 1968 and over time nearly all the tunnels have been turned over to the civilian authorities of the Government of Gibraltar.  They are not open to the public.

There are also approximately 150 limestone caves within "The Rock of Gibraltar".  St. Michael's Cave is open to the public.  It is easy to walk through and view the many stalagmites and stalactites.  They do a light show several times a day, lighting the cave with colorful lights that change colors.  Keith and I got to see the show when we walked through the cave.

St Michael's Cave, Gibraltar

Colored lights in the cave

In addition to the unusual and spectacular geography of Gibraltar, there are some unique inhabitants of this rock.  Often referred to as "Barbary Apes", there is a population of macaques or monkeys living on the rock.  These are the only wild monkeys anywhere in Europe.  There are approximately 300 or so individuals in 5 different troops living on the rock.  Most stick to the upper region which is a nature preserve although some make occasional forays into town.  They are a tailless species of macaque originally from north Africa and this is how they got the name "Barbary Apes".  They have been on the "Rock" likely since the 1200s, but how they originally got there is a mystery.  They are quite the tourist attraction, however years of getting treats from visitors resulted in many individuals developing problems with overweight and diabetes; so the British government  and Nature Preserve passed ordinances making it unlawful to feed the monkeys.  Now they receive only appropriate food unless they are successful in stealing a tourists snack (and they will certainly try if you are not watching out for them).

The Barbary Apes (macaques of Gibraltar)

View down onto the "Strait of Gibraltar" from up on "The Rock" (on a clear day you can see across to Africa)

From Gibraltar we came back into Spain and continued along its Mediterranean Coast to the vacation town of Marbella.  This is a lovely resort town where people come to get away and spend time at the beach along the Mediterranean.  We spent two nights here enjoying this area.

View from our hotel room

Pictures from the downtown area in Marbella

View out over the Mediterranean Ocean

Following 2 nights in Marbella we left in the morning for Ronda.  This is a mountain town that sits on the side of a gorge.  We spent half a day in Ronda including a lovely lunch along the gorge.  

Scenes of the town and gorge of Ronda

As you can see, Ronda was a very photogenic town.  It also is the home of one of the oldest bullrings in Spain, "The Plaza de Toros de Ronda".  The building was constructed in the 1700s entirely of stone.  It is the only bullring to have all of its seating covered.  This was accomplished by creating two rows of seating each with 136 sandstone Tuscan columns forming 68 arches supporting it all.  A museum just alongside the main building contains many artifacts, outfits, and weapons from the last two centuries of bullfighting.  One of the most famous bullfighters of Spain, Pedro Romero (1754-1839) was from Ronda.  Over his career he slew more than 5,400 bulls.

Plaza de Toros de Ronda

The history of bullfighting and raising bulls for the fight is very long and extensive.  It is far beyond the scope of this blog for me to get into it too deeply.  Briefly, bulls are bred specifically for their aggressive behavior.  The species of bull is an ancient Iberian type of cattle.  Large ranches are used for the breeding.  As the bulls mature they are kept free range and away from all other interaction with people and other animals except those that may be breeding cows.  Most bulls will be eligible to enter the ring around 4 years of age.  The matador uses a red cape to make it easier for the audience to see.  Bulls are color bling and are excited by the movements of the cape, not the red color.  The matador will take some time to judge the bull and tire him in preparation for "The Tercio de Muerto" (death).  This must be done swiftly as the bull passes the matador and lowers its head; the matador thrusts his steel sword into the back of the bull's neck severing the aorta.  The matador is judged on his performance.  On rare occasions the spectators can call for a pardon or "indulto" for a bull that demonstrates exceptional courage.  

After lunch it was back on the bus to travel farther into the mountains to Granada.  Here we would spend two nights in the Alhambra Palace Hotel perched on the slopes of this mountain town.  The town is most famous for the palace/fortress built here by the Islamic rulers.  Started in 1238 it is the best preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world.  It is called The Alhambra and it is an enormous architectural monument.  Because it has been in existence for so many centuries; there have been many different rulers in residence in the palace. Many types of tiles, tapestries, furniture etc. are found within the palace.  Items from back in the 1500s mingle with modern things such as a statue of American author Washington Irving which was erected in 2009 to commemorate his role in sparking interest in Spain's Moorish (Islamic) past.  For my final post from our trip to Portugal and Spain I will cover the Alhambra Palace and our final few experiences in Spain.  Look for this in another week or two.  To end this post I have a few pictures from our hotel room in Granada at the Alhambra Palace Hotel.  Notice the snow still on the top mountains of Spain's Sierra's.