A day trip
in the British Colony
Gibraltar is a small peninsula, that covers less than 3 square miles that lies at the South of Spain. A 3 hour flight from London, it is a tiny part of the British Empire. From Málaga, it takes around 2 hours to get there. Gibraltar has a long colonial history and 300 days of sunshine in a year (like Málaga)! Its strategic location has made it one of the most fought over places in Europe. For centuries it withstood sieges and battles and political manoeuvring. Today it is a small part of England in the heart of the Mediterannean. This was my first time on United Kingdom land.
On the entrance to the city, the first thing we saw was the big Rock of Gibraltar. At its bottom is a densely populated town with around 30,000 people, mostly Gibraltarians.
To get into the city we walked through an airplane road. It took me some time to realize it as we were just a very big group waiting on a line. There was a plane taking off! Then, we walked for around 5-10 minutes crossing to the other side where we had to go through a passport check.
To get into the city we walked through an airplane road. It took me some time to realize it as we were just a very big group waiting on a line. There was a plane taking off! Then, we walked for around 5-10 minutes crossing to the other side where we had to go through a passport check.
After passing the identification check, we got into the city. For the whole day we climbed the Rock. Which is incredibly big and absolutely not easy to conquer! But achievable. We had three choices: Taxi, Cabin or walking. We picked walking.
Our guide prepared us for what is to come, he said: You will get sweaty, tired, hungry, but remember this, Stay strong and don't forget to smile! (Siempre fuerte y con la sonrisa!)
As the rock is famous around the world, so are its residents - the Barbary Maqaques who have been living there for centuries. This is the only population of wild monkeys in Europe! It is said that as long as the monkeys stay on the rock, so will the British. We were told not to feed the monkeys, otherwise there is a $3000 price to pay to the police!
Our guide prepared us for what is to come, he said: You will get sweaty, tired, hungry, but remember this, Stay strong and don't forget to smile! (Siempre fuerte y con la sonrisa!)
As the rock is famous around the world, so are its residents - the Barbary Maqaques who have been living there for centuries. This is the only population of wild monkeys in Europe! It is said that as long as the monkeys stay on the rock, so will the British. We were told not to feed the monkeys, otherwise there is a $3000 price to pay to the police!
However, the monkeys are not the only attraction on the top. You can see the sea in every direction, you can see Africa. The rock is incredible!
If I happen to go again, I will check the great siege tunnels, the Moorish Castle, the St Michael's cave, the Europa Point Lighthouse, as well as the Ibrahim-Al-Ibrahim Mosque which is one of the largest mosques in a non-muslim country!