Cheeky Monkeys

412 metres, 6 minutes, £12.50 spent each and we were on top of The Rock, courtesy of the cable car, where the view is truly magnificent.

From this point you can see three countries - Spain to the north

Gibraltar below

and Morocco 14.3kms away to the south across the Straits of Gibraltar.

The top is a very busy place as tourists arrive by the cable car, on foot after a heart thumping walk up the slopes or in taxi, after taxi, after taxi (taxi vans more correctly) - we can't be sure if the taxi traffic is normal as it might have been more prolific due to the fact that two cruise liners were in port today.

There is the obligatory cafe and souvenir shop at the top as well as the pesky monkeys - Barbary Macaques! There are five troops of these creatures living on The Rock and while they are "wild animals" there is no doubt that their continued interaction with humans has somewhat taken the "wild" out of them.

One of them pushed open the cafe door, went in and grabbed a sandwich from inside before being ushered out and he just sat on the steps and casually ate his ill gotten gains as people myself included walked passed within 6 inches of him

Another was asleep on the corner window ledge

while there were numerous others in and around the pathways

some looking after their young, or being looked after by their young!

We descended on foot in what by now was a very warm late morning and while the trip up took only 6 minutes, the walk down was close on an hour and three quarters and boy were we glad to hit the air conditioning of the hotel.

Speaking of the hotel there is a wall of fame, being pictures of the famous people who have stayed here, from members of the Royal Family, Prime Ministers of GB, actors and even Fergie (no not her, the manager of Manchester United!) - I have left a photo of ourselves at reception in case they forgot to snap us.

Open Letter to Minister of Tourism in Gibraltar ,

Dear Sir,

The Rock is the reason tourists come to your country in the numbers they do. Your tourism sector is taking many pounds sterling from them as they use the cable car and the fleets of taxis to get to the Top.

Have you ever thought of using some of that money to ensure that the walkways on The Rock are well signposted - are the Mediterranean Steps still open, if so where are they? If the O'Hara's Battery is closed why not have a sign at the bottom of that walk so that mugs like us don't waste our energy slogging up the hill only to be met with locked gates!

Here is another good idea for you - fix the safety rails in the Upper Rock Natural Reserve as you know how the tabloid press would crucify you if some one fell because of the broken rails and was killed.

I trust you find these comments useful.

Regards