Gibraltar

The Rock has been British longer than the US has been American, since 1713. The towering 3 mile long limestone ridge rises to 426m and looks magnificent from many miles away when the sun is shining and the sky is blue. However, it looks nondescript when it’s shrouded in cloud, with the green top of the rock hidden from view. We were there for two days and experienced both vistas.

The entry point at the border between La Linea in Spain and Gibraltar was straightforward and quick for us as pedestrians – we had left the camper at the marina on the Spanish side. We then proceeded into Gibraltar town by walking over the runway with cars, buses and trucks right next to us and the rumble of a plane’s engine VERY close. The town reminded us of Dover, or one of the Medway towns, there was no need to hang about! So we found our hotel, The Eliott, left our overnight bags, then headed for the quayside where we boarded a boat to go dolphin spotting. We spent a lovely couple of hours in the sunshine on the water heading into the Straights with the mountains of Morocco very clear ahead of us, but alas only glimpsed one dolphin.

Returning to shore we headed to the cable car which took us swiftly to the top of the rock where we had lunch in an empty restaurant with 360 degree views around us, the deep blue Mediterranean on one side and Gibraltar town and Algerciras port on the other side. The resident Barbary apes kept us entertained whilst we ate and marvelled at the panoramas.

The next morning we sauntered around the waterfront where not a soul was to be seen. There are numerous restaurants and cafes but all without clients; maybe March is too out of season or the locals don’t eat out?

We had booked Sunday lunch at the Rock Hotel, on the way we walked through the botanical gardens where we caught sight of the rare hoopoe bird which we spent a good 20 minutes photographing; it made our stay in Gibraltar feel very special.