The garbage people of Cadiz are currently on strike. Which means that there are piles of trash growing everywhere, and the city is starting to smell pretty bad. This is all taking place a couple of days before the big sailing regatta gets into town later this week.
The other day we crossed the border into Gibraltar, which is a British territory in the south of Spain. This is my third trip there, and I have to say, I have never really liked Gibraltar very much, but after Friday, I swear I will not go back there. Ever. Due to its geographic location linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, Gibraltar for centuries has been a major strategic point, both economically and militarily. Tourists go there to see vestiges of military history; ride the cable car to the top of the rock; eat fish and chips and spend way too much money for everything. Especially ice cream. (More on the later). There are actually some amazing caves in the rock that are really cool to see. Everyone´s other favorite part (present company excluded) of Gibraltar are the Barbary Apes that roam freely all over the rock area. While they may at first appear cute and seem interesting for being the only wild monkeys in Europe, they are actually pretty shady characters these apes. And let me tell you why: they steal anything they can. But most importantly, and most cruelly, considering you are on top of a huge rock with no shade in 90-something degree weather, they really like ice cream. Now, everyone tells you to be careful with your newly acquired Wally´s Mint Magnum, but you think, "well, duh, obviously I will not be walking towards a monkey with an ice cream in my hand." But what you do not realize is that you don´t have to be anywhere near one of these buggers to lose your ice cream. They will simply swoop down from the trees, grab your ice cream, use your chest as a diving board to jump back into the trees, and then sit just out of reach, eating your nearly-$5 Mint Magnum. Of course when this happens, you let out a scream because you almost just got knocked over by a freaking money, and you no longer have your ice cream, but you do still have a 20-minute walk uphill without shade awaiting you. And you have just become the amusement of all the women, men, and children in the area. Not to mention the monkeys who are also laughing at your stupidity. So, there´s nothing left to do but find a cool pub, get a pint of Caffreys and a plate of fish and chips and get yourself another ice cream for dessert, far off the rock and away from those darn apes. And never, ever, go back there.
The garbage people of Cadiz are currently on strike. Which means that there are piles of trash growing everywhere, and the city is starting to smell pretty bad. This is all taking place a couple of days before the big sailing regatta gets into town later this week.
The other day we crossed the border into Gibraltar, which is a British territory in the south of Spain. This is my third trip there, and I have to say, I have never really liked Gibraltar very much, but after Friday, I swear I will not go back there. Ever. Due to its geographic location linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, Gibraltar for centuries has been a major strategic point, both economically and militarily. Tourists go there to see vestiges of military history; ride the cable car to the top of the rock; eat fish and chips and spend way too much money for everything. Especially ice cream. (More on the later). There are actually some amazing caves in the rock that are really cool to see. Everyone´s other favorite part (present company excluded) of Gibraltar are the Barbary Apes that roam freely all over the rock area. While they may at first appear cute and seem interesting for being the only wild monkeys in Europe, they are actually pretty shady characters these apes. And let me tell you why: they steal anything they can. But most importantly, and most cruelly, considering you are on top of a huge rock with no shade in 90-something degree weather, they really like ice cream. Now, everyone tells you to be careful with your newly acquired Wally´s Mint Magnum, but you think, "well, duh, obviously I will not be walking towards a monkey with an ice cream in my hand." But what you do not realize is that you don´t have to be anywhere near one of these buggers to lose your ice cream. They will simply swoop down from the trees, grab your ice cream, use your chest as a diving board to jump back into the trees, and then sit just out of reach, eating your nearly-$5 Mint Magnum. Of course when this happens, you let out a scream because you almost just got knocked over by a freaking money, and you no longer have your ice cream, but you do still have a 20-minute walk uphill without shade awaiting you. And you have just become the amusement of all the women, men, and children in the area. Not to mention the monkeys who are also laughing at your stupidity. So, there´s nothing left to do but find a cool pub, get a pint of Caffreys and a plate of fish and chips and get yourself another ice cream for dessert, far off the rock and away from those darn apes. And never, ever, go back there.
3 comments:
Ha ha! Sorry about the ice cream. If you can believe it, I had a similar experience a few weeks ago with some monkeys around here...
I am crying I am laughing so hard right now. I'm not laughing at you really, I'm just picturing the sound you must have made when you had your ice cream stolen. Monkeys are bastards and that's that!
Seriously, Vanessa, I think that's the funniest story I ever heard... It matches the insanity of the hellish grocery shopping experience we shared back when we both visited The Rock for the first time! Do you remember that?!!! Craziness...
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