Gibraltar: Food and Culture

It's always pleasant to have an international food fair going on when one is on holiday. The annual "Calentita" celebrations in Gibraltar just over a week ago saw the Casemates square (Gibraltar's main square) packed with food stalls selling culinary delights from numerous nations.  Locals and tourists alike turned out in the thousands to sample various dishes and enjoy dance displays and other acts, the highlight of the evening being a stunning 20 minute firework display to cap off the occasion.  The Moroccan stand continued their yearly tradition of being the last stall to turn off their lights so the firework display could start, which the master of ceremony on the day poked a good deal of friendly fun at. I was particularly impressed by the Moroccan and Indian food stands and naturally the local stall had plenty to offer to. If you're ever in Gib, be sure to sample the national dish, "calentita," a bread-like dish similar to the Italian "Farinata." I 

On the subject of food and dining in Gib, recommended eateries include "Ipanema" restaurant by the Marina area which offers a hearty buffet for a mere 10 quid.  The house speciality however is a selection of meats of different sorts, which are roasted on the spit and placed on ones plate thereafter, still steaming and spluttering. This costs an extra 6 pounds but is well worth it. "Celebrity Wine bar" also in the Marina area offers highly varied Indian cuisine for a tenner and as the name suggests, a fine assortment of wines from the proprietor's collection. The view of the harbour and the setting sun from the top of the restaurant's terrace is something out of a movie script, complemented by the soft brown and amber shades of the furniture.  These restaurants were a stark contrast to other more "typical" Gibraltan eateries, which were more British than anything else and turned out to be rather pricey. The smoothie stall in the corner of the Casemates square is also worth a glance. A well priced sortiment of healthy smoothies of all sorts and sizes and genuinely impeccable service definitely made for a wonderful start to my mornings in Gib ! 

Giant Paella

Gibraltan wildlife

Gibraltar is home to Europe's only free-living monkey, the Barbary macaque.  300 or so of these animals live freely on the slopes of the rock of Gibraltar and are thought to have been brought to the area from Africa by the Moors during their occupation of the Iberian peninsula.

Some of the young macaques are rather witty and playful and will jump on one's shoulders to pose cheekily for the snap of a  camera shutter. I was deeply endeared by the affection these creatures displayed towards us during our stroll along the upper rock overlooking Ceuta and the Atlas mountains.

Seagulls are also aplenty in Gibraltar, and their cries and fluttering wings decorate the soundscapes and patchwork of the warm nights.  Like their primate contemporaries, they too are amicable and frequently display overt affection towards human beings, as the last picture in this set demonstrates.

Gibraltar. Rocked to my core. At the key to the mediterranean

More pictures from my Gibraltan escapades; Moroccan mountains in the blue distance and evidence of the heritage of the protectorate.  It's little wonder Napoleon found this enclave to be as fascinating as it is.  The key to the mediterranean, the fringe of the Iberian Peninsula. More to follow. 

Under the shade of the Gibraltan rock

A poem I wrote on a cool, calm summer night in Gibraltar, as I watched sea gulls decorate the night sky with their fluttering wings; Ceuta and Morocco in the distance and the warm breeze of the Mediterranean upon my eyelashes

Under the shade of the Gibraltan rock

I hear the sounds of gulls content and gleeful

Poetically astute, angelically gifted

This is what life in pearl feels like

From stalactite caves to amiable apes,

laughs, grins, sighs, jeers and sneers

From marina colours to golden dawns

whitewashed facades and Iberian dreams

Gibraltar, you've made an admirer out of me

To Ceuta and Morocco I gazed from your lengths

And beyond into the distant horizon discreet

Your warm winds propel my day

Your bold rock anchors my stay. 

Amk. 

Gibraltar. Rocked to my core. Marina sunsets and subtle shades

The last five days have been some of the most inspiring of the year so far. June is a perenially colourful, sun-soaked month and nowhere has this been more veritable than at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula. This is the first set of several picture collections from the British protectorate of Gibraltar. This particular set of pictures was shot primarily on the rooftop of the Celebrity Wine Bar at the Ocean Marina, as the sun dinked under the far horizon and bathed the shadows in a crimson candescence that lasted on and on, an eternal symphony of light in slowly descending minor keys. 

In The Pitch of Night

A poem I wrote to commemorate the fulfilment of a dream, an inspiration, a dance, a revelry. To many more dances, revelries, dreams and inspirations, to the setting sun and the flickering stars. To you.


Through the looking glass I Peered
Upon a portal, dim, dwindled and veneered
The revolution be not mine if dance I may not
waylaid, wanted, villified by the pitch of camelot


Take me to the pitch of night
Yonder where the skies part and bluebirds take flight
Wake me from these staccato dreams
Shuddering, plundered. Ripped from the seams
For in this bliss of Eden lie no truths, just sweetness and light

Amk