8 November 2022 - Gibraltar

Miles driven today = 26

Total Miles to date = 2,999

Lisa and I are both +1 on the number of countries we have visited after today.  As we wriggled our way eastward along the N340 we could see the shape of the famous and controversial rock looming up across the Bay of Gibraltar.

We made our way around the port town of Algeciras and on to La Linea de la Concepcion, which is basically the Spanish border town with Gibraltar.  We are at the motorhome aire next to a marina full of very expensive yachts.  It's fairly pricy for what it is at €14 a night but with gun toting customs officials doing regular patrols, it certainly feels secure.

We were originally planning to stay 2 nights but we were already parked up by a little after 10:30am, and with some less promising weather forecast for tomorrow we decided to get our sightseeing here over and done with today so that we can move on again in the morning.

From the aire it's about a 10 minute walk to the border.  Then once I got my passport stamped as having left the EU, we had to cross the airport runway.  Just as were about to start crossing, the barriers came down and we had to wait while an EasyJet flight taxied to the end of the runway and then roared past us to take off.

Once it had done so the policewoman, who didn't look any older than 16, raised the barrier and we tromped our way across the tarmac.

The first thing that caught our eye was the Moorish Castle high up on the hillside.  It is reckoned to be the oldest surviving building in the whole of Gibraltar.

We made our way to Main St, which is the primary pedestrianised shopping street.  There was a healthy number of independant boutique stores mixed in with the more familiar British and Spanish brands.  The Christmas decorations are already very obvious.

Gibraltar has two Cathedrals.  This is the Catholic Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.

And this is the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral.

This leafy looking building, believe it or not, is the Magistrates' Court.

The Gibraltan Government buildings.

We stopped for lunch at a pub next door called The Angry Friar.  We initially wondered why the monk was so miffed but if I had to eat the food they serve up here every day I would be seething too.  It was shocking school dinners type stuff.

The Southport Wall and Gates were built in 1540 to protect the inhabitants from pirates who landed and attacked from the South.

The Trafalgar Cemetery only actually holds the remains of two men who died of their wounds following the 1805 battle.  Most of the men who died at Trafalgar were buried at sea, whereas Nelson's body was preserved in rum so that he could be taken home and buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

We bought 2 return tickets for the cable car to the "top of the rock"

From the cable car station near the summit there are fantastic views across Gibraltar Bay to the West and the Mediterranean to the East.

I can see our van from here!

There were plenty of the famous tailess Barbary Macaques around, on the lookout to steal food and other possessions from unsuspecting tourists.

They originated from the Atlas Mountains and are the only wild monkeys found anywhere in Europe.

There were a few other places I would have liked to explore up on the rock but I didn't appreciate you had to buy a £16 pass for the Nature Reserve in order to do so.  This was on top of the £18 they had already fleeced us for the cable car ride, which I thought was a bit rich, so we headed back down the hill somewhat disgruntled.

We stopped off at a bar for a quick drink on the way back to the van and I got a Gibraltan tenner in my change.  See how young the Queen looks!  I expect they will be replacing them soon with a picture of schoolboy Charles in short trousers.

So we've both put a tick in the box next to Gibraltar but I don't think we'll be rushing back in a hurry.  Let's head for the hills....

9 November 2022 - Up in the clouds