I arrived by ferry in Algeciras, Spain. By the time I got in, I only felt like eating and sleeping. I went for a walk around the area and didn't see much worth talking about. There were a few bars and late night food places. There were also a disturbing number of overweight prostitutes in the area. That's about it.
Gibraltar though. That's worth talking about. I'm not going to claim to know any of the history of the area. I have no idea what relations are like between Spain and this little slice of imperial UK. If you want to know, google it. All I know about this area is from an 8 hour day trip I made with my full pack in the blazing sun. I was there to see some motherfuckin' apes. Someone in Tangier had mentioned the apes. I figured I had some time to kill, and definitely wanted to see some wild animals without the protection of cages.
Gibraltar is kind of odd. It seems like the kind of place people from the UK go when they want to see somewhere tropical, but don't feel safe around non-Brits. Walking through the passport control station was just a formality. No stamp needed. Right inside the same building as passport control, you can buy a bus tour of the city that ends with a trip up the rock to see the apes. I decided I would be OK walking and saving the money. Mistake.
I walked into town and realized that my Euros were no longer good here. I had to get special Gibraltar Pounds, which I'm told, are not usable in the UK. The airstrip runs across the main road, and you must wait on either side whenever a plane takes off or lands. The town itself is surrounded by natural beauty and plaques denoting that something important happened here and there. Well kept cemeteries are made up to be happy garden strolls, and statues line the sidewalks.
Then you get to the city center. Domino's, Burger King, McDonalds, Chanel, Swarovski, they're all here. It was also shocking to see pasty fatties on motorized chairs zipping around, yelling at their fuck trophies. I felt like I was back home at Walmart. I walked to a few points of interest before heading to the road that takes you up the Rock of Gibraltar. I walked past the cable cars that can take you up the hill without the nasty proposition of walking a couple miles uphill. I had my full pack, so I decided to wait in and buy a ticket. What they don't tell you, is that of the two cable cars, one is reserved for those people that had tickets at the passport control office for the full tour.
I waited in line for 2 hours from the time I started keeping track. Once I made it to the ticket window I was informed that the Rock closes at 7pm and I wouldn't be able to see the ape den, nature reserve, or some of the military points of interest. The only thing open up top, was the gift shop and cafe. This is apparently true of the summer months every year. I was assured I would be able to see apes and I had already spent a few hours to get to this point. Sunk-cost fallacy kicks in and I soldier on.
Another hour or so and i'm next to the cable car. A quick ride up and I'm at the gift shop. Classy. I find my way outside to the one road I'm allowed to walk down. I encounter the apes. Of course, people are being dicks. Whistling at them, yelling at them, Letting their kids get way too close. Almost everyone is trying to get the apes to jump on their arm, or pick up one of the babies. I tried my best to will the apes into biting these cocksuckers. No such luck. I get a few shots of the apes and surrounding area. I'm ready to go pretty quickly.
I take the cable car back down and walk back to the border. From what I can gather, Gibraltar is to the UK, what Hawaii is to the US. A really beautiful tropical area that is also valuable strategically. The water is alsofucked from the massive ports. You also see the same type of people visiting. Shitty fat fucks buying overpriced crap and stuffing their faces. The whole ride into Seville, all I can think is, "Fucking white people."
