Rock of Gibraltar more than simply a slogan for insurance

Steve Cook
Venture contributor

One of the first "adult" books that I ever read was "Scruffy," a story about a Barbary Ape, living on the Rock of Gibraltar. I don't recall anything about the plot, but I do recall dreaming of wandering around on the Rock of Gibraltar, observing these monkeys. I was a geographer long before I realized it.

For most Americans, their only connection to the Rock of Gibraltar is that line drawing on an insurance company's ad, "solid as the Rock." How many make the connection? Or where the Rock is located? Or the long history of its strategic location on that narrow neck of water connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.

As we steamed through the balmy Mediterranean night, entering the Strait of Gibraltar on the SS Universe Explorer, the Rock loomed up on our right. It's north face is stark white limestone, lit by huge floodlights, impossible to ignore. It is just there. I remembered old Scruffy, and I knew that when we docked down the coast in Cádiz, Spain, I had to go search for my fuzzy friend on top of this famous rock. And also to peer across the strait to Algeria in Africa and think of its geographic and historical significance.

We, (two other faculty members and one student from the ship) couldn't afford the hotels in Gibraltar, so we spent the night in the adjacent Spanish city of Algeciras. We could barely afford the "Full English Breakfast" (awesomely greasy) in Gibraltar the next morning. We then split up, the other faculty videotaping liquor displays for a travelogue (liquor is really cheap in Gibraltar, much cheaper than in Spain). I cajoled Lucy Hutchinson, the student, into accompanying me in search of Scruffy.

There is a road right to the top, not to mention the tourist aerial tram, but what's the fun there? Let's invade on foot! We walked around the south end, where we encountered the garbage incinerator complete with hundreds of gulls.

After visiting the Jewish memorial on a beautiful overlook and a trip to the beach, we crossed the road and started climbing. I was excited. Lucy was skeptical, but she was a good sport and we climbed up through the scraggly, prickly, brush-covered limestone, with me dragging her over barbed wire fences and stone walls. We even scrabbled along atop a concrete wall adjacent to a defunct military installation. Ah, the "real" Gibraltar — it has been militarized forever.

The rock is nearly vertical on the seaward side, while covered with dense shrubs on the more gradual east side above the town.

We split the difference going up the ridge. At the top, we dangled our legs over the edge for awhile, admiring the view, the ships in The Strait (of Gibraltar, of course!), the waves breaking on the shore a thousand feet below, and the large area of metal roofing that had been used to collect drinking water during the time when Spain closed the border to all interactions between Spain and Gibraltar.

I acquiesced to Lucy's protests, and we finally dropped down onto the road and wandered along, occasionally climbing to the ridge to check the vertiginous view down to the sea.

The obsolete gun emplacement near the summit suddenly loomed above us. Thinking it abandoned, we scrambled around over it, taking pictures, hanging over the edge, pretending to shoot at Britannia's enemies in the strait.

But as we explored further, we discovered that the darned thing was a tourist attraction, complete with a very sober ex-military man who took us on a very proper English tour of the facility. It was pretty sobering to see the size of the gun, which could lob artillery shells way out into the strait. But it had been more fun on top pretending.

Ambling on up the road, we encountered Scruffy! Hunching over some supermarket vegetables at the side of the road, was my first Barbary Ape. It was a little unnerving, actually, as this creature showed no fear of us at all and was big enough to be dangerous if he chose to be, and the road was narrow. He ignored us as we eased past. Then there were more and more, including a mom with babies. I recalled reading that the Gibraltar government loves these apes as tourist attractions, but they are a nuisance, so they are given food on top of the Rock to keep them out of people's homes lower down. That food is also laced with birth control pills to keep them from reproducing. Wild, manipulated animals.

We waned with the day, worn out from scrambling up and over this limestone lump, so our descent was on pavement.

We visited a nice cave where people actually hid from German attacks during WWII. There are also occasional church services held in the underground amphitheater. The intricate flowstone patterns and the history combined seamlessly.

Lower down, as we entered town, we bought some junk food at a tiny store, met our friends at the car and cruised back into Spain, continuing our three-day whirlwind tour of that country.

Some folks, when going to a strange place, buy the travel guide and dutifully following it from one attraction to another. These people are called tourists. On the other hand, it can be exciting, and certainly produces a different experience to just wander around and see what you encounter. You might even come across Scruffy on top of the Rock of Gibraltar.

For those who "need" more information, this is a place to start.

http://www.discovergibraltar.com/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm