Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a UK overseas territory located near the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. It has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces. It is probably most famous for the geological formation the Rock of Gibraltar and the Barbary Apes.

After a scenic train ride from Ronda to San Roque, we took a cab to La Linea, showed our passports at the border, then walked across. It was just getting dark but we could see the huge rock of Gibraltar towering over the town. We took a double decker bus into Gibraltar Town to the funky Bristol Hotel recommended by Lonely Planet. The next morning we moved to the Elliot hotel which had a great view of the harbor and Algeciras across the bay.
We decided to take the "Official Rock Tour". The guide was a native Gibraltarian and was great at explaining everything. The first stop was Pillar of Hercules where we could see the north coast of Africa. Then up to St. Anthony's cave where we were greeted with a family of monkeys. They were trying to steal food from the snack shop and unsuspecting tourists. They were so fun to watch! Very playful and friendly looking. They jump on the vans and the drivers have to shoo them away. The caves were really drippy wet because the rains the days before. They were similar to Nerja caves with a big stage built into one cavern. Then we went to apes den where we could see more monkeys and where they are fed. We took some great photos and video of them. I never thought we would be so close to wild monkeys. View our monkey videos and photo slideshow.

Then we went to the tunnels that were blasted into the rock to protect Gibraltar in the 1700s and were used again during WW2. We watched an airplane take off - our tour guide explained that we witnessed history. Iberian airlines just started service from Madrid to Gibraltar in Jan. Before that, no Spanish airline had been allowed to land in Gibraltar. We were lucky to have such a great guide and such perfect sunny weather for our tour of the rock.

I toured around on a local bus and saw most of the peninsula. The east coast had a resort and long stretches of beaches. That night we walked around G-town in search of non-pub food. Most places had crowds of guys watching soccer games on very loud TVs. We found a decent place and ordered pizzas and salads - always a safe bet. We started to miss Spain's food and culture. Spain was visible from across the bay but there were no ferries or busses to it. We packed it up the next morning and headed back to the border. As we walked across the guards barely glanced at our passports and didn't even stamp them. Next stop, Cadiz.