On English Soil: Gibraltar
Last week, my family traveled all the way across the pond to come visit me! My brother and sister had a week off of school for their Spring Break, so they spent Sunday afternoon through Friday morning in Seville!
When I got back from Morocco, the next morning I went to one of my classes and then skipped most of my other classes that day to spend time with my family! (I figured it was a good excuse.) We had coffee, ate tapas, visited the Torre del Oro, and went over to the Plaza de España and the Parque María Luisa. The rest of the week, they did sightseeing at places I had already been to like the Cathedral and the Ruinas de Itálica, and I went to class. But we had pretty much all of our meals together and I got to spend most of my down time with them. They even came over to my apartment to see where I live and meet my señora, which I think was fun for everybody! I loved being able to tell them what I had learned about the city, and getting to use some of my Spanish to help them out was encouraging for me. (It made me realize I have picked up some practical Spanish, which was nice.)
However, on Thursday, we had a change of pace. My family had arranged a day trip to visit Gibraltar, and I went with them! The thing that’s most interesting about Gibraltar is that while it is connected to Spain, it actually is a British Overseas Territory! Situated on a peninsula and surrounded by the Mediterranean, its only land border is shared with Spain. It’s still a disputed territory, as Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 and it was ceded completely to the (now) United Kingdom in 1713, but Spain still claims the territory. However, the people of Gibraltar have voted several times in recent decades to remain independent. Gibraltar governs most of its own affairs, but is subject to some aspects of UK law, and its defense and foreign relations are the responsibility of the UK.
We took a car from Seville to the border of Gibraltar (a two-hour trip). Our driver dropped us off, and we crossed the border on foot. It’s actually much easier and faster to cross the border as a pedestrian. You go through a very quick passport check, and you’re on your way! The line for cars and trucks is very long, and can sometimes take 2-3 hours!! The driver said that this is because gas is cheaper in Gibraltar, so many people in Spain will cross the border just to buy gas. (I’m not sure of the exact price difference, but it must be worth it if they’re willing to wait in line that long!)
Once you cross the border, you then have to cross an airplane runway! There isn’t a lot of flat land in the area, so the only usable space has one runway that runs perpendicular to the road to enter Gibraltar from Spain! They stop cars and pedestrian traffic when they find out a plane is about to take off or land, but they still encourage you not to take your time while crossing the runway, haha.
We had a taxi driver who took us to see all of the main sights! This was great, as many of the sights are up on the Rock of Gibraltar and in the nature reserve, which is only open to military and taxi/tour group vehicles. (Probably because the roads are so small and winding, and they want to keep traffic to a minimum.)
We went out to Europa Point, which is the southernmost point of Gibraltar. From there, you can see northern Africa across the Strait! Depending on the weather, you can see the Rif Mountains of Morocco, and sometimes the Spanish city of Ceuta. You can also look west across the Bay and see the rest of the continent of Spain, including the port city of Algeciras (where I took the ferry to get to Morocco the previous weekend!)
Driving up the Rock, we stopped at the Monument to the Pillars of Hercules. Supposedly, the Rock of Gibraltar actually was one of the Pillars that marked the end of the known world.
Another stop was at St. Michael’s Cave, a series of limestone caves located inside the Rock of Gibraltar. Throughout history, the caves have been used for tourism, excavation, and even as a military hospital site. Today, one of the larger chambers is used as a concert hall, since it apparently has great acoustics! There are also several legends about the caves! The Ancient Greeks believed the cave was actually the Gates of Hades (the entrance to the Underworld!). The other legend (which I mentioned in my previous blog post) is that the cave is bottomless and actually forms a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar and connects to the Caves of Hercules in Morocco! Legend says that the famous Barbary Macaques (monkeys!!) came to Gibraltar through this tunnel!
Speaking of the Macaques, next we went to the Apes Den to make some new friends! The Barbary Macaques of Gibraltar are a very popular tourist attraction. This is the only place in Europe where the Macaques are found in nature, and because they’re cared for by a government organization, the population is thriving. They are provided with supplementary food and veterinary care. Another legend about the Macaques is that as long as they exist on Gibraltar, Gibraltar will remain under British rule! Our guide knew a lot about how to handle the Macaques, and even knew which ones were friendly and which to stay away from. The general rule about getting up close to them is that “you can’t touch them, but they can touch you!” So they might climb on your head, but you shouldn’t try to grab them (otherwise they might get aggressive.) It was definitely a fun part of the trip.
The last sites we visited on the Rock were the Great Siege Tunnels. The Tunnels were dug out of the limestone by the British military during the late 1700s. They were garrisoned and made ready to defend the peninsula in the event of an attack. They were primarily used during the Great Siege between 1779 and 1783, when France and Spain tried to capture Gibraltar while Great Britain was distracted by the American Revolutionary War (whoops!). They were also garrisoned during WWII, though they never saw battle.
We drove back down the Rock (very steep and scary!) and had lunch in the town. We spent a bit more time wandering and doing souvenir shopping before we crossed the border and headed back to Seville. It was a very fun time! It’s a beautiful place with a very unique history, and it was fun to hear so much English and see the the Union Jack fluttering in the breeze above buildings.
I’m so happy that my family was able to visit me. I think they had a fun time, and I’m glad they were able to get to experience this amazing country I’ve called home for the past few months. Getting to visit a new place with them was also really fun for me, as Gibraltar was one of the places on my list! Spending time with them and going someplace English-speaking definitely made me homesick, but it was worth it.
As of completing this post, I’m just about caught up with my latest set of travels! Stay tuned to hear about my trip to Ronda, Spain!
Cheerio!
kelseygoestospain 