Gibraltar
7th January 2020: After our few days in Torremolinos and Málaga, we drove 140km south to see the monolith of Gibraltar and to spend some Xmas sterling. We parked up up on the Spanish side of the border in a picturesque aire at the marina:
Passports are needed for entry to Gibraltar! This is the border from Spain into Gibraltar:
We stayed for one night on the Spanish side of the border and went into Gibraltar to spend the day there. It’s a strange place! It is 6.7km² and consists of the rock and then, at sea level, the town. The population is around 30,000 but, in addition to that, around 13,000 people travel into Gibraltar each day from the Spanish side for work, several thousand of those in the online betting industry.
The question as to how all of this will be impacted by Brexit has yet to be determined. Gibraltar is not part of the UK but, unlike all other British Overseas Territories, is a part of the EU. Gibraltar participated in the Brexit referendum and is therefore to leave the EU on Brexit Day, same as the rest of the EU; despite 95.91% of voters having voted to Remain.
Gibraltar is a peculiar mix of Spanish and English. There are many people there who sound like native speakers of both languages. We heard more Spanish spoken than English, though, and in this context it was funny to see British postboxes and traffic lights, and M&S, Debenhams, etc.
Saul: Imagine going to a small town in rural Gloucestershire were all the locals would intermittently break into perfect Spanish. That is Gibraltar. I expected Dr Who’s tardis to appear any minute….
We took a guided tour in order to see everything in one go. First we were taken up to a viewing point where we could see across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco. This was a beautiful sight. The Rock of Gibraltar, ‘Mons Calpe’ as it was called in the ancient world, was one side of the gate to the end of the world, the other gate (known to the Romans as Mons Abyla) being across the strait in Africa. They were called the Pillars of Hercules.
This sign reads: To the ancient world Gibraltar was known as Mons Calpe, one of the legendary pillars created by Hercules. As a religious shrine and as an entrance to Hades, to many it signified the ‘Non Plus Ultra,’ the end of the then known world.
Our tour guide also pointed out the oil tankers docked in the bay. He said that it was not uncommon for the tankers to sell oil directly to each other, and for all business to be conducted out on the water in order to avoid tax.
Next stop was St Michael’s Cave, a network of limestone caves with spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. These caverns featured in the works of Homer and artifacts found inside confirms that the caves were known to Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians.
There were a variety of features inside this cave. We saw stalactites, of course, which hang from the ceilings, and stalagmites which rise up from the floor and are made up of droplets that have fallen from above; then there were drapes, which are like thin, wavy sheets hanging down; stalactos or pillars, where stalactites have joined up with stalagmites below them; there were straws which are like tubular stalactites – these grow particularly slowly, under a milimetre a year; and also helictites which are like straws but ones which have changed direction as they grew, looking as though they defy gravity – this is thought to happen as the result of capillary forces acting on tiny water droplets.
The Polished Stalagmite: originally this stalagmite snapped and fell down thousands of years ago. It now lies on the floor of the cave. In 1972, a 45cm thick slice was cut off the tip. What we now see is a cross section of a stalagmite. It is fascinating to see the track of its formation in much the same way as we can trace a tree’s growth with a cross section through the trunk.
Next, our driver took us further up the hill to see the monkeys, of course!
The first sign we saw of one was this
Around 300 Barbary macaques live on the Upper Rock. This is the only wild monkey population living on the European continent. The first chronicle of Gibraltar, written at the beginning of the 17th century, makes reference to the monkeys, and they are thought to have been living here since the Islamic period.
The monkeys are keen to approach visitors as they associate them with food. We had read beforehand not to take food, or even bags, up with us as they could be grabbed off us. Indeed, one young woman standing near us was feeding pieces of an apple to a baby macaque, when an adult macaque grabbed her by the sleeves of her jacket and did not let her go until he had managed to retrieve the apple from her pocket!
Here he is, enjoying the spoils
And not forgetting Saul and his friend…
He was very calm, considering a monkey had just hopped onto his back!
The monkeys were Olwen’s favourite part of the tour – and our final stop was Morgan’s favourite: the manmade tunnels through the Rock of Gibraltar. 34 miles of them! They were constructed mainly by the British Army, starting in the late 18th century, and they functioned as a fortress and communication network. There are many opening points from which cannons were fired when the Rock was under siege.
Caitríona: If you zoom in on this pic, you’ll see that my face was covered in mosquito bites – just in case you think it’s all fun and games 😮 I was savaged by mosquitoes while staying outside Málaga
Back at sea level, we had a wander around the town and found a place for lunch: a Full English!
Delighted with her pineapple juice that looked like half a lager!
To leave Gibraltar, you walk across the runway; a bizarre end to an unusual day
It was a gorgeous evening, but we decided not to stay another night. Rather than hanging around any longer, we decided to hit the road. Next stop was Ronda, just over 100km north from Gibraltar and way up high in the mountains.
