Zorindha's Place in the Sun

Monkey business March 2, 2010

Yesterday was constitution day in Spain, so we hired a car and went abroad. All of Spain had thought of the same idea of course, so we ended up in a traffic jam for an hour to go across the shortest border inte the world over to Gibraltar. The weather couldn’t have been better though, 23 degrees and sunny made the day seem like a Swedish summer’s day. On the main square we enjoyed some Brittish food and a pint before heading up on the Rock to see the monkeys. I have been there before, but the view always strikes. The sea is scattered with big container ships, the shore scattered with little marinas. Across the water there is a clear view of Marocco.

Last time I was here, there were nearly no tourists so the view was all mine to enjoy. This time there was no pause between the minibuses stopping to show the monkeys. Guides was picking monkeys up and put them on people’s shoulders for the ‘I’ve been to Gibraltar!’ photo. I was sad for the mother monkey with a little baby that wasn’t trained enough for any shoulder to earn a little treat. Instead she was nearly kicked by a guide and ignored by the tourists as she retreated to pick her child’s fur.

Here’s some pictures I took from the top of these incredibly charming animals.