Don Juan Manilva

... on to me when I was leaning against a wall. Wasn´t happy that Mark wasn´t around to get a pic though! grrr!! I Want One! Plus I miss my babies, Harvey and Biscuit...

Anyway, the trip was a really good breath of fresh air, in comparison to the hustle and bustle of lots of the parts of Europe we have visited recently.

Hopefully we can get a computer that will upload photos in the next few days! Keep an eye out...

The adventure has begun! I met up with my new Canadian friends Katy, Dan and Sarah in London, Gatwick for 1 night at the Gatwick Belmont Guest House. The plan was to all shares a quad room but we were offered two doubles instead which worked out quite nice, we just shared a bathroom. All of us did the "getting to know strangers" celebratory beer… that turned into 6 or 7. J Some of us were hurting pretty badly in the morning for the flight but it ...

... No words or pictures could fully capture the essence of this city, you just have to be there to fully experience its beauty. I then explored the city, going to places that are not commonly visited by tourists, I did some shopping, had a beer and tapas at a small restaurant and then walked through the park. Unfortunately, the day was cut short due to time restrictions and I did not have the chance to do everything I wanted to do but I will definitely be back.

Today was a rest day in Gibraltar. Well actually we stayed in La Linea, a small town at the most southern point of Spain. Besides being much cheaper (half the cost for a 4 star hotel) it was also less crowded. As we arrived late, we arose late and after a brunch walked the 15 minutes to get to the border to Gibraltar.

We really didn't know what to expect, and were surprised to see that an actual border was set up, complete ...

... the border: just needed to wave my passport, and in I went. I drove around a bit, trying to orient myself, then decided to park at the main shopping car park in town. It was a perfect location for a walking tour of the central district. Which, I suppose, really wasn't that interesting. I guess, in this era of globalization, the charm has faded from crossing from Spain to England in a matter of metres. Besides, apart from the red post boxes and the off-track betting shops ...

... and a few of the seats rising a little higher than intended, we were all in and off to our first camp night. We arrived to our tents already set up by Jason and dinner (risotto) cooked by Kate so weren't thrown in the deep end too badly. There was also a bar on site so we grabbed a few beers, lit the billy and settled in for a bit of a get to know what's what and who's who first night.

... clearly marked on it. From the border you have to walk across the airport runway to get into the city. This is a bit weird because you have to look left, right and up as you cross in case a plane lands on your head. I made it across and continued into the town. I got lost once and had to get directions to the hostel from one of the locals. When I arrive at the hostel there was nobody there. I looked around and found a note in the window ...

... amongst the tourists and certainly prepared to grab anything that sparkles, but take the advice of the cable-car driver and do not attempt to pat or touch - the guy top above right (and the rest of the pack basically) has a pretty mean temperament, as one lady near us found out trying to give him a scratch behind the ear ...

I've almost escaped the wonderfully wicked grasp of Morocco. Stayed in Casa Blanca Last night, but not much to tell there. The towns like an over-rated Detroit or Omaha, cosmopolitan in a way but completely **** for tourist sites. They have a really big mosque, but it doesn't do me a whole lot of good since I can't go in. Took off immediately this morning (a little before noon) to spend the next 8 hours in transit. Taxi, bus ...

... Europe and legend has it the British will retain control as long as the apes continue residence here. Seeing the apes was the highlight of the walk. We sat and watched the babies splashing around their pool. I could have used up all of my memory taking pictures. They are obviously use to people and tour buses. I read somewhere they spend about 30% of their time among humans. The teenager apes were swinging off the ...