Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 19th. Feb. Left our very nice spot by the beach on Sunday morning because the clouds had rolled in overnight and it was clear that there would be no sunbathing. We decided it was time to head for Gibraltar, a treat we had been eagerly looking forward to, on a par with the big cities and the white towns. We arrived at the border around 2pm. and had a drive around La Linea de la Conception. What a dump!! Very run down, full of litter and rubbish. We crossed the border, in the van and began a search for somewhere to park on the rock. We sought the advice of a policeman who suggested Europa Point. We set off on a white knuckle ride around narrow streets and steep gradients until we encountered a bridge 2.9metres high. This was a problem as the van is 3 metres high. An interesting multi point turn was negotiated and we headed back to the border. We found a car park in La Linea which we shared with half a dozen other vans and a couple of noisy lorries, parked up and headed back to the rock on foot. We've been trying to find the right word to describe the border area and frontier post into Gibraltar and I suppose our first impression of it was seedy. We got a bus into the town centre and bought a couple of essentials, suet, salad cream, gravy granules and Teachers whisky. Found an internet cafe/pub which was far too noisy to Skype from. Walked around the town, which was - well seedy. Sat outside the Lord Nelson pub and watched Liverpool thrashing Swansea. Enjoyed a pint of Old Speckled Hen whilst getting increasingly aggravated by the assembled foul mouthed English also watching. I'm tempted to say it's just like England but with better weather, but it's more than that, unique. Anyway we were happy to go back to the van after a couple of hours. On Monday morning we went back and shared a taxi with a Swedish couple for a guided tour of the rock. It cost us £44 but was good value. The driver, Harry was a 7th generation Gibraltarian and extremely knowlegable, well able to answer all our questions, and Jan has plenty!! We were driven up impossibly steep, narrow roads up the rock and explored, St. Michaels cave, an enormous cavern with stalagtites and stalagmites, which was the home of neolithic people. The apes are the main attraction however and Janet was captivated by them. Although it is strictly illegal to feed or touch these creatures, clearly, the law does not apply to taxi drivers, (does it anywhere) and Harry seemed to be on first name terms with most of them, feeding them nuts and stroking them. They are certainly cute, particularly when grooming each other. We visited the tunnels and couldn't help thinking of our old friend Jack Marriner who had worked on them in world war 2. The views from the top were panoramic and I think Gibraltar finally redeemed itself when Jan found a silver barbary ape for her charm bracelet and we had real cod and chips for lunch. We left about 2.30pm and it was time to put in a few miles. We had planned to take our time heading up the coast to Cadiz, but the weather has taken a turn for the worse and we headed for Conil de la Frontera where there is a pleasant ACSI site, La Rosaleda. We drove through some wonderful countryside and past beautiful wild beaches, we're now on the Atlantic coast, if the weather had been better we'd have stopped. Still, we have lots to see before heading into Portugal and time is passing quickly. This morning we have had non stop torrential rain and are going nowhere until that passes. Still it gives us time to do a little spring cleaning.