Love at Spain's Iron Cross

2 - Gibraltar

2

Gibraltar

Monday, May 3

Jordan sat atop one of the most famous natural towers in the world, over a thousand feet above the sea. He heard the distant waves and saw the sun glinting off their crests. The offshore breeze carried a faint smell of salt wind as it blew through his hair.

He looked across the Mediterranean toward Gibraltar's sister rock in Africa, about 9 miles south. He'd read the Roman legend. Faced with crossing the Atlas Mountains, Hercules stomped his foot down instead, splitting a peak in half, and creating the connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Gibraltar and its African sibling were the two Pillars of Hercules. Jordan smiled.

Hey, Hercules, I'm following in your footsteps!

He had flown to Gibraltar from London and had arrived just an hour ago. He remembered the conversation of two men seated near him.

The Spaniard said, "Give Gibraltar back to Spain. It's on our Iberian peninsula."

The Englishman replied, "It's ours since the 1713 Treaty that ceded the land to Britain."

An impasse, Jordan thought. He could have asked about Spain's two territories in what would otherwise be Morocco, but it wasn't his place.

Let them work it out. Not my problem.

After climbing down from the peak, he toured the Queen's Gate area to see some natives of North Africa, some of who had been introduced to Gibraltar. This was where a group of Barbary macaques lived. These small apes were friendly. One even crawled atop Jordan's shoulders. He and another tourist took some pictures of one another hosting the apes with both of their cameras. The other traveler had a sense of humor.

"I think she wants to be your girlfriend."

Jordan laughed. "I'm not ready for one yet, but it's nice to be wanted."

He turned north, facing toward Santiago. In just 3 miles he would leave British Gibraltar. Ahead of him stretched 806 miles of pilgrimage to the Galician coast. Phew. That's a lot of miles! For two months, just walking.

Wow. That's two hundred more than my trek on the Camino Frances a few years ago. What's Lao Tzu's Daoist quote? "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." It's true for just 800 miles, too!

Jordan took his time getting ready to begin. On his backpack, he tied a scallop shell. It was the symbol of the Camino, showing all in Iberia his pilgrim status. His was a gift from his sister, who he had seen recently.

"Jordan, I have two scallop shells from where I live on Nantucket. I brought them here to our Dad's winery in California because I knew I wouldn't see you again before you go to Spain. I figured this might help you feel like I would be there with you on the trek."

"Thanks, Kate." He hugged her as he teared up. "I appreciate it. Your support always has helped me."

While she and her husband visited that Easter, his father had shown some old videos of Kate and Jordan as kids in England, some scenes of their mother before she passed away, and several with Jordan's recently deceased wife, Oriana. Their wedding had been at those same vineyards. She had only been gone for two months. He remembered everything. The film reminded him of their happiness. He remembered telling Kate about Oriana.

"We met as undergraduates at the University of California, Berkeley. As incoming freshmen, we were part of several orientation activities together. I was a full foot taller than she was."