Where is Gibraltar?

Where is Gibraltar? That is not a rhetorical question when one is driving the highways of southern Spain looking for the turn off to go to Gibraltar…because you will not find any signs that say Gibraltar. Instead one must either look for signs that say La Linea (the community on the Spanish side of the border) or watch for the Rock itself and just work your way towards it. Once one knows a bit about the political history of this area it is understandable why highway signs do not acknowledge the existence of Gibraltar. An article about the history and politics in this area can be found on the web.

We arrive in La Linea early on a bright sunny day. With the help of excellent directions in a Rick Steves guide book we find Fo Cona, a parking arcade just a few minutes walk away from the border. It is possible to drive a car across but since we were a bit concerned about parking in Gibraltar and reports of long delays when bringing a car out, we decided to walk across and take local transportation once there. Aside: My absolute favorite practical guide books are those written by Rick Steves. I tear out the pages relevant to our day trip and use that as our practical tour guide.

“Frontier” and “frontier crossing” are terms that totally baffled me at first. To the best of my understanding I believe “frontier” refers to the strip of “no man’s land”, neither Spanish nor British, where the customs offices and officials are. So when you go through customs you are “crossing the Frontier”. It is an international border so you will need a passport…and depending on where you live, possibly a visa. Canadians and Americans only require a passport.

An important tip re money. Gibraltar is British territory so the currency used is the British pound. Your Spanish money will not be that helpful to you here…so if you are going to take a bus or a taxi from the border crossing to the downtown area you will need British coin. (Bus was 1 pound 20 per person to ride all the way to Europa Point. We knew this so before we left England we put aside some British coins.) Once you are in downtown Gibraltar it is easy to use an ATM to get local currency.

After going through customs (did not take long at all when we went through) you will be faced with an interesting situation. How many places in the world have you been where all traffic (pedestrian and vehicular) is stopped when a plane is due to arrive or take off? We have been in two. Gibraltar is one of them. The other is Grand Cayman. There, the road is so close to the end of the runway that pedestrians and vehicles could be tossed about by turbulence, so traffic lights have been installed to halt traffic when a plane takes off. Here, in Gibraltar, pedestrians and vehicles must actually cross the runway… so 15 minutes or so before a plane is due to land or take off, the crossing is closed (resulting in long lines on both sides of the runway). It adds a whole dimension to the warning  “Watch for aircraft”.

Once across the border we buy a ticket from the bus driver, board local bus #3, and enjoy the three mile trip to Europa Point at the far end of the peninsula. This was a suggestion in Rick Steves’ guidebook and I am so glad we took that advise. For very little money (1 pound 20 per person) we were treated to an overview of the territory as the bus traveled to the Trinity Lighthouse area. (Our ticket was still valid for a return ride back to our next stop.)

From Europa Point we are able to see across the Straits and catch a glimpse of the African continent.  Even though I had read so much over the years about the huge role the Straits of Gibraltar played in the history of this area, I was not prepared for the visual reality. The African continent is so close! Somehow that reality had not truly sunk in before. A summary of the history of Europa Point and the Straits of Gibraltar can be found at Visit Gibraltar. I especially enjoyed the section re the formation of the straits.

So looking one way you see Morocco, but turn and look back towards The Rock.  There is a beautiful building… The Mosque of The Custodian of the The Holy Mosques.   After seeing how close Morocco is, it is easy to understand  why this spot was chosen for the mosque.

 

The Mosque of The Custodian of the The Holy Mosques  and the Shrine of our Lady of Europe are a very short distance apart…a fitting testament to peaceful co-existence. An article about both the Mosque and the Shrine can be found on this Visit Gibraltar website.

Next stop…the cable car. The city bus dropped us off just across the street from the cable car station where we walked up, purchased our tickets and in a few minutes were in the cable car on our way up to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar.

Stepping off the car we were greeted by one of the famous apes that inhabit the rock. He was just sitting on the metal fence next to the cars…not afraid of us, not threatening us, just watching us. There are signs everywhere reminding you that Barbary Apes are wild animals who can bite if annoyed or frightened. Most people. including me, kept a healthy distance from them. A few people seemed to go out of their way to get close to the apes.   One tourist had set her bag down on the observation deck while she took some photos. Apes must have a good sense of smell because soon one was rummaging through her bag to retrieve (steal?) an apple.

What a view from up here!

Looking the other way you see Spain and the Mediterranean.

We wandered a bit at the top enjoying the views, exploring remnants of old defense systems and observation posts, AND watching the apes.

Those who are more limber and adventurous than we are might like to walk part way down and then catch the cable car again at its mid-point stop.

We did the return trip on the cable car after having a snack in the cafeteria at the top…and mailing postcards from there so they will be stamped “Top of The Rock “. The view from the cable car is just as exciting coming down.

 

 

Next on to the serious business of exploring the historical points of interest, lovely parks, and shops of Gibraltar. Here products from all over the world are readily available.

My husband loves to shop, but not in the traditional sense that I think of  as “shopping”. He keeps an eye open for things that are not available at home and/or products that     take a new twist on an old idea. So things like electrical appliances, lighting systems, tools, etc are “hot items”. Now I ask you…are those things most tourists look at!!!

I am very fortunate though because he is quite willing to traipse along behind me as I explore art galleries and knickknack type of stores.

Many blocks of Main Street are a pedestrian mall (no cars allowed) so it is quite pleasant.

 

The best thing about Gibraltar? Well, that came as a surprise to me.

Read the next posting The Best Thing about Gibraltar to find out what we both considered the best thing in Gibraltar.

 

How to Get to Gibraltar

• Self -drive: Take the Costa Del Sol highway (main highway following the Mediterranean). There are two toll booths between Marbella and where you turn south..about 5 euro total. Watch for the signs to La Linea (there will be no sign that says Gibraltar).
• Let someone else drive…book a tour
• Book a shopping tour that will pick you up, bring you to Gibraltar, and return you home.

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Happy travels!