Gibraltar

Gibraltar

We (the four of our family plus special guest Aunt Cynthia) left Seville, Spain with the ultimate destination of getting to Morocco via ferry. Although I tried to piece together multiple bus trips, it was much simpler and cheaper for a group of 5 to rent a car and drive from Seville to the port city of Algeciras. And it just so happens that next to the port, there’s a whole other country called Gibraltar.

Gibraltar is a territory of the UK, so some people will consider it an independent nation and some won’t. We drove to the border in the town of La Linea, Spain, parked the car, and walked across the border. We showed our passports to exit Spain and then to enter Gibraltar. And all of a sudden, we were in an English speaking nation for the first time since October!

The large prominent Rock of Gibraltar is visible from quite a distance away because everything around it is flat. There are red phone booths, pub food, and people speaking combinations of English and Spanish all around. We rode the bus to the bottom of the cable car and then caught the cable car up to the ‘top of the rock’. It was quite a view! It’s amazing to look across and see the hills in Morocco look so close.

About to ride in the cable car to go up

At the top of the rock, there are macaques (monkeys) all over the place that are sneaky little souls, very used to interacting with humans. We were advised to wear our backpack on the front so that they didn’t steal any food out of our backs! They are really fun to watch and up to mischief all over the place.

We walked around and then began a descent, wiggling our way down toward the ‘SkyWalk’ (glass platform) and then to St. Michael’s Cave. The cave is massive. Inside we watched ‘The Awakening’: a brief light and sound show inside this huge theater room with seats for many to sit – all underground, inside the cave surrounded by stalactites!

The formation they call 'Michael the Archangel'

Can you see all the seats for the theatre?

We then had lunch at ‘St. Michael’s Cabin’, which was one of the only places on the rock to get food. The view was great and the food was good but the services was not – we laughed at the grumpy guy running the show.

We continued our descent downward, and walked across the suspension bridge with another lovely view. By the time we made it all the way down to main street, we were hot and tired. We found some drinks and ice cream to enjoy in a little park, and then we made our way back on the bus to the border and then the car.

What are those macaques doing on the roof of the car?!?

Teaching Aunt CC about geocaching

It was hot outside.

All in all, it was a neat experience. We didn’t explore the vast military or archeological history. We didn’t go coasteering or dolphin watching. And it was kind of a lot of effort to get there, cross the border, pay in another currency (the Gibraltar Pound), etc. But it was really beautiful and a fun adventure that we all enjoyed. The sunshine, the views, the cave, and the macaques made it a memorable place.

We spent the night in the nearby port city of Algeciras before catching the ferry to Morocco the next morning.