This weekend, we took a three-hour bus ride down to the Strait of Gibraltar. The earliest bus out of Cadiz was at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and our bus left La Linea De La Concepcion (the Spanish-owned land just outside the Strait at 3 p.m. Sunday. This didn't give us long in Gibraltar, but we did a ton of things and it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Our hotel was in La Linea, meaning the currency is euros and everything is in Spanish. We made the 20-minute walk from our hotel to customs, and found everyone speaking English and all prices in pounds. For the short time we were in Gibraltar I felt literate again- reading signs and understanding bits of conversations from people around me. Here is a view of the rock of Gibraltar from La Linea
On our first day in the city, we went on a guided tour of the rock with Peter - born and raised Gibraltarian. He knew everything about the city's history and took us to all the places of interest. We drove up the mountain and stopped in a series of huge caves that make up much of the inside of the mountain.
Another stop was in the tunnels within the mountain, built by the British for defense. The tunnels were a lot of fun, very touristy with mannequins dressed up like miners and soldiers in different alcoves.
My favorite stop on the journey was to see the monkeys. Their monkeys are native inhabitants of Spain, but as people began to settle, they kept moving more and more south. Now they are in Gibraltar, and have no where left to move (they can really swim the distance to Morocco). Looking at them, you feel like petting it. Seriously though, don't. Every single person who heard we were heading for a weekend in Gibraltar had something to say about the monkeys - and not a single thing was good. I heard they jump on your back as you're walking through the streets, they steal anything they can grab, they bite, you name it. Honestly though, I enjoyed the monkeys. As long as you don't bother them you can get really close, and I think it's a good idea to refrain from feeding them.
In any case, I didn't get bitten, and I still have my camera (which I was convinced would be stolen by a monkey).
We made a couple other stops along the tour to see the pillars of Hercules and a breathtaking view from the top of the mountain with the Atlantic on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. One spot on the rock is incredibly foggy because of the mist from the Mediterranean turning into steam as it hits the rock and rising up the face of the mountain. It was beautiful.
The following day we walked back across the border to go on a dolphin adventure coordinated by our tour guide friend, Peter. We went out on a catamaran into the Mediterranean and followed around a couple pods of dolphins. It was the first time I've seen dolphins up close in the ocean, and it was wonderful (not as cool as the monkeys, but it was up there). Aside from the sunburn and blistered feet I had the perfect weekend.
Today was back to lab as usual. I am working on more techniques this week - I think I will be getting a little more busy every day. I began to run a High Pressure Liquid Chromotograph (HPLC) today of one of my purified fractions. It was very frustrating to learn in Spanish, but some of the graduate students working in the lab saw my frustration and did their best to help me out. I might be able to explain the concepts behind the HPLC better in Spanish than English. I also realized how spoiled I am at Bucknell. The HPLCs here are not hooked up to computers, so they are a lot more interactive to run. You have to literally watch the instrument for an increase in absorption and at that time move a tube under a little spout to collect the purified fraction.
I guess I will get used to it, but I've already asked my recent biochem professor if I can come back and just admire his lab when I get back to Bucknell in August.
