Again, I post with an apology. We really have no excuse for not posting more often, other than we are just having too much fun!!!
Since our last posting, we have continued on with the never ending adventure that is our life these days. Beach parties, day trips and weekend excursions abound! We have explored a couple more of the small towns throughout the area, and again we were amazed at how much each little village has to offer. From culture, to storied history, each place has it's own unique and special charm. We have yet to find some place were we have felt disappointed in.
Which leads nicely into our weekend trip. As you may remember from a previous post, last month we tried and failed to go visit Gibraltar. During Brae's epic birthday weekend, we had tried to go for a hike there, but because we had no passports, we were not allowed in. We tried again last weekend, and armed with our passports, some snacks, and desire to see the African coastline, we heading in. No problems crossing the line, although we did have a longer than desired wait in the que at the border. Once across, we found a nice picnic/family rest area to stage from, and headed up the hill. By hill, I mean really high and steep mountain. The rock rises roughly 600 meters straight up out of the ocean, and is pretty cool to look at. The he hike took us from the west side, across the southern slope to the eastern face, past old WW2 bunkers and gun placements. The views were stunning, as well as the history that each bunkers represented. It again reminded us that the wars are not ancient history, or even history, they are just the past, still relevant and daunting for what occurred. Every time I see something like this, the terms "Lest we Forget" takes on more significance.
The top of the hike offered views in all directions, and we descended down the road towards the cable car. You would not believe the monkey business that was going on. There are a troop of monkeys that inhabit the upper reaches of the rock. As we were walking, we must have come across 4 dozen or more monkeys just lying on the road, sitting in the trees, or waiting on the rocks for someone to turn their backs to them. They are very adept at taking what they want, from hands, packs, and even pockets if they see you put something away. Although they are used to humans, it was still just a little intimidating being surrounded by wild animals. We had no real issues, and the kids were like Paparazzi taking photos of the monkeys, getting closer to them than I was comfortable with. It was so cool, and we are going to add it to the list of must sees for all our visitors.
After spending the day in Gibraltar, we jumped in the car and headed to Ronda. It's a medium sized town a couple hours inland, and is home to Spain's oldest Bull Fighting ring and Museum. We did a cool tour of the building and grounds, and with the help of the audio device, learned a ton about the sport and the history of it. We even spent a little while playing Bull and Matador, but in our version, the Bull won every time!!!
Ronda was built as a fortress, and it is situated on top of these amazing sandstone cliffs. The cliffs must rise 200 meters or more straight up, and the town is built right to the edge. There is a wall that surrounds the town away from the cliffs, and one the most amazing stone archway bridges I have ever seen spans a gorge in the middle of the town. While walking around, we found a couple Viaferada route climbing the cliffs, and we all decided it is another must return place. Next time we are bringing harnesses and helmets and scaling the cliffs.
Beyond this, we are still just enjoying life. We are taking each day and trying to enjoy all that it has to offer. Life is Great.
Cheers
Shane
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