The historic Rock of Gibraltar, all limestone and with an Arabic name, stands at the entrance to the Mediterranean. In English hands, it enjoys quite a brisk commerce with many people of the world, but especially from Spaniards, who cross La Linea (The Line), to purchase cheaper foodstuffs here, and from more powerful companies, who do their banking here. Shipping is also important for Gibraltar. The official language is English, but many others are spoken also, particularly Spanish.

Typical and historical of this small English enclave in Continental Europe are the Barbary apes, numbering these days in the hundreds, but immediately after World War II barely 30. The legend has it that the day the Barbary apes disappear, England looses control over The Rock. So since then, the government has watched the numbers, never allowing them to drop too low.

These animals are macaques, also present in North Africa. Tailless, they are quite intelligent, and know that cars bring food, as drivers of vans and taxis offer them dry pasta and peanuts, which these primates love. They can, notwithstanding their attractiveness, be quite a nuisance, going into shops or houses, and taking food from the kitchen. We saw a few females with babies of the year.

Today, September 10, is National Day, and the Gibraltarians poured out of their houses, all dressed in white and red, to celebrate the holiday, with singing and noise in the streets, and by releasing 30,000 red and white balloons, one for every citizen of Gibraltar.