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Gibraltar: We had been meaning to go to Gibraltar all summer. Worries about the border and parking, plus horror stories about Gibraltar's notorious one way system had put us off. So when our friend Onno Henke suggested a trip there, Jane and I were both very keen. Onno would drive us and we would see what happened when we got there.
We set off from Benarrabá at 9am headed down the A369 Ronda - Algeciras road in the direction of Algeciras. We made one navigational error near Gibraltar (which isn't well signposted) but were soon heading past San Roque towards La Linea and the Gibraltar border.
This first photograph was taken out of the car window as we sped along the sea front at San Roque. It makes Gibraltar look like an island, which of course it isn't any more. It was, but a sandy isthmus 1.6km long along the western side now connects the rock and mainland Spain. We encountered heavier traffic as we neared Gibraltar. There was a two lane road. The right hand lane was a traffic jam. The left hand lane was nearly empty. Signs on the road indicated the traffic jam was people wishing to take their vehicles across the border. The left hand lane was for car parks on the Spanish side and you walk over the border. Not wishing to sit in the jam, we headed down the left hand lane and were soon parked in a palm tree lined street about five minutes from the border. The charge was 4.50€ for six hours (£3). Not bad.
(We now know if you park further down this road it is free parking.)
We arrived at the border, flashed our passports to a customs official and were in Gibraltar.
If you want to walk into Gibraltar you have to cross the Airport runway. We got a bus from a nearby stop, the service is very regular on new, clean buses. (1.50€ / £1 return)
This is a photo of a few people walking to and from Gibraltar across the runway. The bus journey is short, Onno and myself were soon having a half of John Smiths (pacing ourselves) in a British style theme pub, Jane had a coffee. We didn't have any £'s but had heard we could use € euros all over Gibraltar. This turned out to be true. All the prices are in Pounds £ so if you pay in Euros € you get a quickly mentally calculated exchange rate that is seriously not in your favour! So after being ripped off a couple of times we headed for a Bureau de Change and got some 'proper cash' (The Gibraltar £20 note has purplish ink which makes the Queen look rather trendy with purple lips ( punk/cyber/gothic/fetish or what! ))
So armed with the good old British pound we hit Gibraltar High Street.
Which scarily, looked very British. They must have imported the chewing gum covered block paving, now part of every British town centre. The temperature wasn't British it was a lovely day, very pleasant at around 33C/90F. There are a lot of Spanish people working and visiting so there was a mixture of languages. Most residents in Gibraltar are multi lingual.
We found Marks and Spencer's, BHS and a Safeways (now Morrisons). Lots of Electrical goods shops selling tax free cameras and TV's.
We're not sure how much you save or what the reaction of the Spanish customs would be if you arrived at the border with thousands of pounds worth of HiFi equipment ... ?? Gibraltar is a tourist resort. It used to be an Armed forces base but now has a tourism / finances driven economy.
Prices are high. We paid £8 each for cod and chips and a half lager.
Watch out for additional small print service charges.
The next few shots were taken in and around the main street of Gibraltar. There is a blend of British, Genoese and Spanish influences in the buildings and streets. The headless pigeon is definitely British! Bobbies on the beat!
Fish and Chips!
Brown beer with a head on it!
Test match cricket on the TV's in the British pubs and we were winning!!
Cups of tea , money with the Queen on it, M&S ...
Gibraltar plays on its 'British' connection and it is fantastic that it is only an hour away from our tranquil Spanish haven.
So full of expensive genuine 'British' fish and chips cooked by and served by a Spanish lady we headed off to go up the 'Rock'. We had heard you could get a cable car to the top. We set off to find the cable car but were stopped by some men armed with leaflets 'selling' tours of the rocks attractions in an A/C taxi minibus for the same price as the cable car. (£7 each)
I don't like street selling and had never been on a cable car and wanted to photograph the Rock and town as we went up & down.
Onno and Jane liked the sound of A/C and not having a 2 hour + walk around the top.
I was out voted. so no cable car photographs ...
The plus side was that Onno and Jane were right about the A/C and not having to walk. The guide/taxi driver was a Newcastle United fan (Howay the lads!!) so I soon stopped sulking and driven by a fellow member of the Toon army we headed up the steep narrow road to the top. The first place of interest was Europa Point. This is the most southerly part of Gibraltar and indeed Europe. It is supposed to be one of the Pillars of Hercules one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world.
So the modern world has placed this this monument here. Below Europa point is the Military part of Gibraltar with barracks and storage facilities. There are a miles of tunnels in the 'Rock' for military use, used to store .....???
The next photo is of this area, with strange golf ball structures for eavesdropping and counter intelligence (special secret agent type stuff). Probably empty as we were allowed to photograph anywhere on Gibraltar.
The sea is the Straights of Gibraltar. The land on the other side is Africa. Around 14 miles away.
The first shot is The Moroccan coastline on 10x zoom.
The second is framed through some trees. We piled back into the 'Toon Army Gibraltar Section' minibus and headed up to St Michael's cave. We'd heard there was a Marks and Spencer's on Gibraltar but no one had mentioned St Michael's cave!
We got there and were told it was a natural cave complex with stalactites and stalagmites. We were waiting to go in when we met our first Barbary Ape. We heard some laughing/screaming, this monkey had stolen a tube of Pringles from these two girls. The Apes are a species of tailless monkeys called Barbary Macaques. These Macaques can be found in Morocco and Algeria, with the ones in Gibraltar being the only free-living monkeys in Europe today.
There are about 160 of the fascinating, thieving entertainers including some very young babies.
Jane wouldn't get close to this ape for a photo but did get 'brave' with a baby ape higher up the hill and further down this page. We entered the cave and were amazed and delighted by the sheer size and beauty of the cavern.
The next few pictures are of stalactites and stalagmites and the lime deposits washed down the cave walls and roof.
The skull is now 'built in' to its final resting place by the dripping limestone rich water over many years.
The caves were wonderful, a unexpected bonus to a great day out.. This next one is a stalagmite standing erect in its cave ... The cave in places has concrete steps and the floor is wet and you have to watch your footing.
There is an auditorium with seating. There are laser lights for a cave light show, which we unfortunately didn't have time on our taxi tour to wait for. This last shot shows a stalactite and stalagmite that have met .. aaah.
If you look carefully into the gloom you can see tiny people. This gives some idea about the height and size of these Gibraltar caves. Back into the minibus we headed off to see the apes in the area of the Rock known as the 'Queens Gate'.
The next few shots are of the famous Gibraltar apes. They were entertaining, jumping on the minibuses also occasionally onto peoples heads and backs. We could have watched them for hours but the taxi tour had to move on.
Next was the Great Siege Tunnels. Hacked out of the rock this tunnel was used as a military store but when air holes for the miners were seen to give cannon coverage of the coastline the tunnel became a fortress.
The cannons were huge and the tunnel small and confined. The noise of them firing must have been incredible.
This next fellow shouts "Halt who goes there" on a tape loop every ten seconds ... Here are Jane and Onno the roof at this point is quite high. This is a photo experience shop. You can get dressed in period costume and have your picture taken.
We emerged from the Siege Tunnel into the heat and light. From a viewing point opposite the tunnel entrance there are great views of San Roque, La Linea and down over the Gibraltar Airport.
The first shot is looking North over the airport to La Linea.
The low buildings on the far side of the runway is the border.
The high rises are in the centre are in the Spanish town of La Linea and to the left the resort town of San Roque. British Airways fly scheduled flights in and out of Gibraltar every day.
The Airport also has a military use by NATO forces and the RAF.
These are Hurricanes? Here for exercises and an air show. The next view is looking East. This coastline has only a thin strip along the seafront that is flat and there are a few chalets for holiday makers. The photograph was taken from near the top of the Rock. The area which looks like walled fields is actually very steep and there were reservoirs underneath to catch rainwater. This is the opposite side looking west over the main town and port of Gibraltar out to the bay of Algeciras.
The second photograph looks across the bay to the Spanish city port of Algeciras. This is a busy shipping area being near the entrance of the Mediterranean. The Spanish also have an oil terminal/refinery in the area. Finally a few pictures of the Rock.
The first needs no explanation.
The second you can see part of the Costa del Sol coastline in the distance.
The third is a photograph of the the old fort on the very top.
The fourth is for sentimental Brit's. (Stand up, salute and sing the National anthem if you wish)
The fifth is of Jane and a very tourist friendly Gibraltar bobby.
The last from the Spanish border looking back to Gibraltar.
We spent six and a half hours on Gibraltar. The taxi tour was excellent, far better than doing it by cable car and walking. It cost £7 for the taxi and £7 to get in the attractions, each and it took around 2 hours. The driver kindly gave us a lift back to the border. After living in Spain for three months Gibraltar was really expensive. were not used to paying £2.50 a pint and £6.00 for fish and chips!
Prices are probably the same as in the UK.
The whole day cost around £30 each and as you can see from the pictures was action packed. The Barbary Apes were the highlight of the day.
The St Michael's caves were fantastic.
Anyone visiting this area of Andalucía can have a great day out on Gibraltar.
We shall definitely be returning, probably with friends and relatives during their visits to Benarrabá