Watch out for killer Barbary Apes!

I'm trying to figure out how to get the photos mixed in with the text like I used to be able to do. I'm hoping that having them all come at the end wasn't one of the "upgrades" that came with the latest update. Please bear with me on that. Also, I noticed that its cutting off the photos unless they're vertical. I'll try to fix that too!

Today in Gibraltar, UK, we had a narrow escape from a vicious Barbary Ape!

We were walking peacefully along the main downtown shopping street with our plastic bags of shopping when a fairly sizable ape plonked himself (herself?) in the middle of the sidewalk. As we approached, it came towards us--we stopped--it stopped--we moved--it moved. So, we stood and averted our eyes into a shop window, which attracted the shop owner. He came out and we asked if we should just proceed. He told us that despite being fed fruits and vegetables twice a day in the reserve at the top of the Rock, some of the more brazen ones will come down into town, where some idiots feed them. He said that they know the difference between the black bags that Marks & Spencer's uses for clothing and the yellow ones they use for food. He thought that the beige bag that I had in my hand was a bit too close in color for an ape (not knowing if they are prone to colorblindness) and so he took my bag and put it in a black bag from his shop. He then and sent us on our way--out-smarting that ape--who then let us pass unmolested!

I went into M & S and had a nice chat with the manager lady that we dealt with last year. She was the one that they called in when we tried to pay with a pound note which had been out of circulation, in favor of pound coins, since about 1970! Nice to know that we are notorious in M & S in Gibraltar as she remembered us and delighted in telling the current crop of cashiers about our futile attempts last year! For the record, this year we had British Pounds, Gibraltan Pounds, Euros and a trusty US credit card--once humiliated, twice prepared!

We docked next to this little boat today. By our calculations it's about 200 feet long, with both front and back heli-pads and a pool on the top deck. We've found the 1%!

The weather here was absolutely beautiful and about 65 degrees. We had anticipated 50 and so we were dressed for the Arctic and were quite toasty. Some of the trusty Brits from the ship were sporting shorts and sandals--and neon white legs! We will get the hang of it as we now set sail for the Canary Islands.

One last note on Gibraltar--the runway is located on the one flat piece of land that also happens to be the causeway between Gibraltar and the mainland of Spain. When a plane lands or takes-off they have to close the road as it crosses the runway!

The food on board is fabulous so we are sticking to our "no elevator" rule. It's not nearly so difficult on this small ship so we are trying to avoid all of the great desserts! Don't know how long that will last...