Friday
I don’t think internet connections like my computer very much, because I went to Starbucks in the morning and after settling myself in with a cup of coffee I tried unsuccessfully multiple times to connect to the Wi-Fi. I eventually gave up and went to the school to use the internet but it would be nice if I could find another place that worked as well.
Work went well, but was super hectic. I had to do a lot more with checking in people and it was hard to keep all the information straight, especially after learning a bunch of different things with the computer and then trying not to mix up everything. I can only hope everything was done correctly.
I left Spain on Saturday to go to part of Great Britain with a group organized by the tourist company that I had almost ended up working for, Discover Sevilla. We went to Gibraltar which is located at the southern edge of Spain and is within sight of Morocco, Africa and is officially British territory. Once passed the border we split into four groups and went in minibuses driven by native Gibraltarians to get a tour of the most significant sights. Our driver, Ivan, explained to us how everyone speaks English and Spanish and often mixes the two into a form of Spanglish. Since everyone in our group spoke English Ivan gave the tour in English however he would insert some Spanish words here and there. It would be kind of fun to live somewhere where you grow up speaking two languages so fluently that you can easily switch between the two.
Right at the beginning of the tour we had to stop and wait about five minutes during which Ivan informed us that we were waiting on a plane to take off, since to get into the city, traffic has to cross the airport runway. A road across the runway is just one of the many unique things about Gibraltar. We first stopped at Europa Point which provided a great view of Morocco. It was probably the closest I’ll ever get to Africa. At least now I can say I’ve seen three continents, if not actually having physically been in three. Gibraltar is where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean merge together so I technically saw both at the same time.
Africa in the background!!
Our next stop was at St. Michael’s Cave which is a large Cathedral Cave and is one of a hundred and forty caves that so far have been discovered in the famous Rock of Gibraltar. It was neat to see, but by far my favorite part of the day was seeing the monkeys that live on the Rock. The monkeys are semi-wild since they roam around freely however they all have been given shots for rabies and such so it is safe to be around them. Our guides warned us though that if you go after them and don’t let them come to you, there is a chance they’ll bite you. They are a species of tailless monkeys called Barbary Macaques that are the only free-living monkeys in Europe. Way back when a bunch were brought over to Gibraltar as pets from Africa, and I guess Winston Churchill said that as long as there are monkeys living on the Rock of Gibraltar it will be owned by the British. So when someone started killing off some of the monkeys, in order to ensure that Britain maintained control, thirty more monkeys were brought over and now there are around three hundred. I really wanted to get a monkey to sit on my shoulder, like some people were lucky enough to have happen, but we didn’t have as much time with them as I would have liked and my attempts at enticing them to come to me were mostly futile. I did get some pictures next to them and right before we left one little fellow put his paw/hand (I don’t know what’s the correct term) on my shoulder. If we’d only had more time I might have had a great picture, but it was still fun anyway.
Once back down in the city, we were given two hours to walk around in order to get lunch as well as shop. It was strange seeing signs in English (like God save our queen) and hearing people talking in British accents when it seemed like we were still in Spain. I had to remind myself to order in English since after nearly two months of living in Spain I’ve become sort of used to doing it in Spanish. All too soon we joined back up with the group and made the two and a half hour trip back to Sevilla. I would definitely like to return to Gibraltar sometime, if only for the monkeys. Once back in Sevilla, we passed a group of men practicing for Semana Santa (Holy Week) by carrying the platform that will hold the statue or statues that are from their church. Back in the apartment, Concepción and I went out on our balconies and watched a band march past as they were practicing for Holy Week as well. This just makes me so excited to see all the processions.
Semana Santa practice
Sunday
After Mass and then ice cream, (for motivation), Paige and I had the exciting task of finding flights for after Spain. It was a little bit painful. We decided to take turns buying the flights so that we will hopefully even out how much we owe each other. I bought the one from Sevilla to Rome on Easter Sunday, and it was rather expensive, $373.25 for the two of us. However, the website we went through seemed to have problems with the payment, and wouldn’t send the ticket information until my card was approved, so I still don’t know if that one is a go or not. Then for Rome to London, it was actually a little higher I believe. Finally things started seeming a little better when we bought tickets for Edinburgh and Dublin, since both had prices for less than $100 each. I’m happy to report that I also now have my ticket home, since I finally bought it for $492. It is close to $200 cheaper than the one to Spain, so that makes me feel a little better about all the other flights, but only a little better. At least I will have about four months to work before going back to school, because I’ll certainly need the money after this trip. I can’t believe that I’m leaving Spain in less than a month now. Although the hotel work seems to drag on a bit, the time seems to be flying by otherwise.
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