Gibraltar, Spain

At the southernmost point of my 1998 tour of Spain was a small town called Gibraltar, best known for its prominent mountain called the rock of Gibraltar. The region is adjacent to the Mediterranean sea and the straights of Gibraltar which is an essential shipping lane and formerly an important strategic location for the British colonialists. This cannon was one of the largest in the world at the time, it was meant for striking ships out in the sea, but it was never actually fired in anger. In the background you see the forest along the west side of the mountain and some buildings.
 

Big Cannon, Gibraltar, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 1998 (No. 0928)

I walked up the side of the rock of Gibraltar and made a painting of a monkey thinking. Later I realized that these were not monkeys but apes, and there were a lot of them on the mountain. This one posed long enough for me to make the painting, but walked off soon after. They had a penchant for posing. In the foreground is the steep road that winds up the mountain. At the top, I was surprised to find so many tourists, but it turns out they had a tram-line bringing tourists straight up to the top. My walk was free though!

Ape Resting in Tree, Gibraltar, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 1998 (No. 0929)

 

Going to the very top I found an old artillery turret that was about 2 meters tall, and a ladder on the side to climb up to the top. The sky was partly overcast but still, the sun was very hot and I was down to my last sip of water. It was a tough decision, either make a painting, or drink the water. So I poured about half an ounce into my cup for painting, and drank the other half ounce! There was just enough to do the painting, sitting on the turret, at approximately 442 meters looking down onto the coast line and city. On the way back, I discovered a pub called the Irish Embassy and was delighted that they were serving Irish Murphy Stout on tap. Lucky I saved that money on the tram fare, I could have some cold beer after a hot day of hiking and painting.

View from Top of Rock of Gibraltar, watercolour 5 x 8" cold press, 1998 (No. 0932)