Upper Rock Nature Reserve

From the top of the Rock, there were amazing views of the cliffs on its northern and eastern sides.

Seagulls

As is expected in a maritime environment, there were also seagulls flying in the air and fighting the wind perched on the rock.

Up close

The apes were absolutely fearless and walked right up to us. I have never been this close to a wild ape that wasn’t at a zoo!

Apes

As soon as we arrived to the top of the Rock, we were greeted by the Rock’s most famous residents—the tailless Barbary Macaques, the only free living primates in Europe.

Legend has it that when the apes disappear, so will the British. The government took this very seriously, as was evident during WWII when their numbers were low. The British took no chances and brought in reinforcements from Africa.

Recently, however, their populations have been thriving, so the focus is now on controlling their rapidly growing communities.

Cable Car

We rode the cable car to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve located at the top of the Rock.

In the U.K.

As soon as we crossed the border, there was evidence attesting to the fact that we were in the U.K. everywhere.

Gibraltar

The next day, we took the bus from Algeciras to Línea de la Concepción. Long before we ever arrived to the border between Spain and the British colony of Gibraltar, we could see the gigantic rock off in the distance. The rock itself is a vast limestone ridge, 5 km long and up to 1.6 km wide. Gibraltar has long since been sought after due to its strategic position guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean. In the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans, it was one of the two pillars of Hercules.

Back to Algeciras

At the end of the day, we took the ferry back to Algeciras. Although we were still in Spain, we were also very close to Morocco, so “Marruecos” is also on the road sign.

Mote

We saw the mote that runs through the city’s center on our way back to the port.

North Bay—Atlantic Coves

After we finished at the gardens, we stopped and got a bite to eat before heading to the Atlantic Cove beaches along the North Bay. The Atlantic waters are the coolest and thus preferred by Ceuta's residents.

Botanical Gardens

The park, which stretched more than 12,000 square meters , was full of exotic vegetation. The top picture is a butterfly that I found resting on some flowers, and the bottom photo depicts some birds of paradise growing in the wild. Of course, those were my favorites of all the flowers…

Us in the park

While we were walking around the park, we all stopped to take lots of pictures!

This is Madre and Janet stopping to chat; the other photo is me standing in this doorway.

Parque Marítimo del Mediterráneo

Our first stop in Ceuta was at a park which boasted of beautiful gardens in addition to stunning views of the city. This top picture is the harbor as seen from inside the park.

Off in the distance, you could see the Pillars of Hercules as well. Pomponius Mela once said in 1 B.C. that there were two mountains, one called Abyla (Ceuta) and the other Calpe (Gibraltar). Together they made up the Pillars of Hercules. Legend has it that Hercules separated the two peaks that had previously been joined by a continuous mountain range while searching for the Cattle of Geryon. Upon separating the two mountains, the ocean rushed in, flooding the space it now occupies between the two cities.

Stopping for a rest

This was the view of the harbor that we had when we stopped to take a breather and consult the map.

Marina

As we were walking, we passed Ceuta's marina, which was absolutely filled with boats.