The Rock of Gibraltar. One minute you are driving in Spain and the next, passing through British customs.
The history is long and storied, and territorial control remains an unsettled issue in Spain's view. The Rock stands 426 m (1,398 ft) high. Its upper area is covered by a nature reserve, home to around 300 Barbary apes. At the summit stands the Moorish Castle, built when Berber chieftain Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa in 711 AD and established what would become 700 years of Moorish civilization on the Rock. Beneath the surface runs a system of underground passages — the Great Siege Tunnels — dug during a four-year siege that the Rock famously outlasted. This history inspired the saying: solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.
The Moorish Castle, built in 711 AD
Centuries of sieges, sovereignty battles, empires risen and fallen. We were there for the apes.
A colony of approximately 300 Barbary apes resides in caves near the top of the Rock. With dusk approaching, we drove at breakneck speeds to the summit along a narrow one-lane road built on a sheer cliff, with a mistake costing a 1,000-foot drop to the ocean. The view was breathtaking. The complaints about my driving were endless.
We spotted our first ape about two-thirds up the Rock.
One of approximately 300 Barbary Apes on the Rock
Then they were everywhere. We pulled the car over against the rock's edge as tight as possible. Our daughter Stacy and I got out of the car and warily moved closer.
Unfortunately, I forgot to roll up my window. The car was parked tight against the sheer wall, making it impossible to exit from the passenger side. With unexpected speed and agility, one of the apes leaped to the window sill and leered at Betsy. She was trapped. As the ape peered in I had a brief moment to be the hero, grab the ape by the nape, and throw him to the ground. I balked. In my defense, don't be deceived by appearances — Barbary apes are known for their sharp teeth and bad temper.
Lots of screaming and yelling ensued, which fazed the ape not one iota. With fierce agility he leaped into the back seat to face Betsy. Breathing heavily with primordial lust, he seized the fruit salad bowl from her hands, gave a menacing look, and then left the way he came.
There he is — smug, fearless, and challenging me to do something.
It was later said that the photo is blurry because I was scared. I am writing this, so I find another explanation more appealing.
Stacy and I were laughing so hard we could have fallen off the Rock. Betsy was not laughing. She was recovering from her intimate encounter. He stole her fruit.
There was some talk afterward that I was not man enough to fight off the ape, that I failed to sacrifice myself to save my wife. What was I to do, shoo it away? In my defense, the ape sat on the window sill for maybe two seconds — sizing up his prey — before entering. Even so, my behavior was not exemplary. It's bad enough Betsy witnessed my less than manly performance — but Stacy was watching too.
We all escaped into the night retelling the story, with Stacy and I laughing and Betsy, disturbingly quiet. Eventually, I think all was forgiven.
Betsy has never confirmed this.
Majestic Rock of Gibraltar