There is a song by the Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies called If I had a million dollars.
The singer ponders what he would do if he had a million dollars. He would buy his lady a new car, a new dress, a home and its furnishings. One of the things he offers, should he become a millionaire:
If I had a million dollarsI would buy you a monkeyHaven’t you always wanted a monkey?
It’s been in my head all afternoon. Here’s why:
If you look at a map of Spain and find the part that is physically closest to Africa, it’s actually not Spain anymore. That is Gibraltar, and Gibraltar belongs to the United Kingdom. We needed to present passports to enter and clear customs to leave. No joke. From Gibraltar, you can stand and look out at the the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the very tippy top of Morocco and Spain. We had a a very funny guide today. As we got on the mini bus, he asked in Spanish what language we needed to speak, and when the crowd responded “English,” he feigned concern, winked at me (I was at the front) and paused for effect before continuing the day in a perfect British accent.
Gibraltar is a British territory, and often useful from a strategic, military standpoint, but it is also really beautiful. There are two things that everyone who goes to Gibraltar seems to need to do- visit the caves and see the monkeys. There is a large cave in the stone of Gibraltar, and it has been converted into a performance venue. Cas and I stood on the stage for a moment.
Gibraltar is also home to Barbary macaques. It’s so much easier to say monkey. They are fearless, having shared space with humans for so long. One of them rode on top of our mini-bus and banged on the roof a while. It was entirely bizarre. When we left there, we had lunch at a place right on the water where they sold fish and chips. We wandered around in our remaining time to an Irish pub- the whole thing was strange. We had to pay our check with a credit card, having no British Pounds to spend. In the middle of all things Spanish, the pocket of England was very interesting. Everyone was British, and they all seemed happy. I think this is what it would be like on the actual British Isles if they had more sunshine, because it was an absolutely beautiful day. We wrapped up there and headed back to Marbella, where we are again for the second evening. This town is more geared toward people who love shopping and nightlife, so Cas and I may just relax and take a dip in the very swanky hotel pool. Tomorrow, we head to Granada. A week from now, we’ll be at our house in Dallas. Until then, buenas noches!
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