Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Today we went to Britain!
Gibraltar is still a British Territory.  It is only 6.7 square kilometres on the tip of the Iberian peninsula.  Half the world's trade ships still pass through the narrow strait.  Spain still wants to claim Gibraltar back, but the people of Gibraltar have rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty twice (in 1967 and again in 2002).

From the bus:

















The territory is so small that a road has to cross the airport landing strip.  Five flights land each day and the road is closed (obviously).  Here we are  --  driving across the tarmac.





















A desalination plant inside the rock provides water for the people of Gibraltar.  The excess water forms a wonderful waterfall in a very dry landscape.





















There are more kilometres of roadway INSIDE the rock than outside!  Couldn't believe it.  It truly is a tiny territory.





















There was a very steep and scary climb in a mini-bus to the top of the rock.








































Saint Michael's Cave













































Monkeys  --  A carefully-controlled troop lives on Gibraltar.

The red coats are still doing their duty!

And what could be more British???

BYE  FOR  NOW. 

We leave for home tomorrow morning, so no more entries for this trip. 
Hope you enjoyed a few of our pics.  We saved you from hundreds of others!

THE TOUR ... continued

Portugal

The only UN-necessary part of the tour was the brief stop in Fatima, famous for the reported 'sightings' of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1917.  As an important Catholic shrine, I was amazed and disgusted by the crass commercialisation of religion  --  the shops selling all kinds of religious items (which seemed to me to support idolatry and shopkeepers' purses rather than faith) and the hideous rosary beads as shown here:

???

Oh no ..... can't get the photo to upload.  Is it the hotel internet connection, or am I being punished for the comments I just wrote?  Will try again in a minute.

Ah .... I'm not being punished.  Here's the photo:



I mean, for goodness sake, what's the point???   It's mindless, ugly, gross and utterly senseless.  It's the kind of thing that makes many people reject institutionalised, commercialised religion.

But here are my wonderful American friends, Dick and Debbie, in front of one of the shops:



Dick and Debbie have been friends for nearly 30 years.  I met them when I first worked at the University of Colorado such a long time ago.


Lisbon

We arrived late in the afternoon, but immediately headed for the Castelo de Sao Jorge (Saint George Castle).  It's a strong fortified citadel with a long, long history.  The first fortifications on top of the hill were built in the 2nd Century BC!   What we see today is largely a result of building during medieval times.

First, we had to get to the top of the hill, so paid for a Tuk-Tuk.  It was nearly the end of our lives, but we live to tell the tale.










































































It was getting dark, but the view over Lisbon was spectacular.

Sintra

The Royal Palace  --   summer retreat of the royal court.  

 

Lunch group:  Daryl, David, Bret, Sonja (Bret's mum), Debbie, Dick.

Influence of the Moors obvious:

The kitchen in the Royal Palace

The ceiling of the kitchen is a giant 'funnel' to take the smoke and fumes out

As seen from the outside

Seville

The amazing Plaza de España

Casa Blanca (where the story of Casablanca originated):

Cordoba

The Cathedral of Cordoba, or the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.  An amazing history.  See  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba

One of the most accomplished feats of Moorish architecture.

The first photo shows a building that appears to be a mosque, but when Cordoba returned to Christian rule in 1236, the building was converted to a Catholic church.  Now, features of both occur side by side.  It is a very controversial building.  

In many parts of what is now the country of Spain, Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together peacefully for hundreds of years.  

An ancient Jewish Synagogue:

THE TOUR

Wow, the tour has been amazing, but exhausting.  And sadly, there hasn't been time to keep this blog up-to-date.  We're meeting tour friends for dinner in 30 mins, so this entry will be rushed -- just a few pics to keep it going.


Segovia

An amazing aqueduct from Roman times.
















We couldn't believe how dry it is.

 



Avila

Lunch with Dick and Debbie.  The steaks were HUGE!








Saint Theresa (started the Carmelites Order).




Avila walls




Two travellers





Salamanca

One of the best squares we've ever seen.  As far as I'm concerned, it's far better than the 'famed' square in Siena (Italy).
 





















We were about to start the walk back to our hotel, when we came across these guys dressed in amazing costumes with very strange head-dresses.  We didn't know if they were gymnasts or what!  Thought we stay for a while and see what was going on.




Next thing we knew, there was some kind of religious parade coming down the street.







The women looked amazing in traditional costume.

Then we noticed a "float" at the end of the procession.  It must have been some kind of feast day for a particular saint, or for the Virgin Mary.




Then we found out the role of the guys in the strange costumes.  Suddenly, on command, the "float" lowered to the ground and out came the twenty or so guys who had been carrying it.  They were unseen before as the float had material hanging down to almost ground level.

The new lot of guys went through a clearly practised manoeuvre and, on command again, they lifted the float and moved on.  Now we noticed their feet shuffling along, all in time.  It gave the impression of a giant millipede underneath!






Now it's time to run off for dinner.  Hope you enjoy the photos.
Until next time .......



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