A Day Excursion to Gibraltar
This was our first view of the Rock of Gibraltar.
To get to Gibraltar from Malaga, we took the bus to La Linea de la Concepcion. We took it from the bus terminal close to the Malaga train station. The ticket cost us 13.50 euros per person and we took an early departure. It must have been 8:30 am. It was the more expensive ticket since the route was more direct. The bus did make stops but only three or four if I remember right. However, when we got to Gibraltar, we decided to take the last bus out of the town, around 7:30 pm, instead of the scheduled 5:30 pm so we could tour a lot longer. The caveat though was we had to pay an extra 3 euros per person for the change. Not bad. We knew about it too since we inquired about any penalties should we decide to change our departure time from La Linea. Now, the trip back to Malaga took a lot longer time since it made lots of stops, a lot. At first, I was apprehensive about the number of stops made, but in hindsight, it was far better since it was like a mini tour for us. It passed by some spectacular beach towns and cities.
Crossing the border from the Spanish town of La Linea de la Concepcion was really easy and safe. It was broad daylight when we did it and there were lots of other visitors besides us. There were hundreds making the trek over the border. The immigration over in Gibraltar didn't even bother to check our passports. We simply had to flash it. I asked them to stamp it but the one who let us through said they only stamped passports from nationals who were required visas.
I've arrived!
Getting to the center of town was not difficult. We simply walked along the Winston Churchill Avenue straight from the border.
Once we got over to the Gibraltar side, we saw a tourist office selling guided tours to the city for 31 euros. Ay first we thought we'd do the touring on our own. We later realized that we could only go so far and only do it within the city center. The important sights like the Rock, St. Michael's Caves, as well as the Tunnel were far and it was suggested by an employee from the official tourist office that we join the tour provided by the cabbies from various pick up points in the city. We ended up joining a tour for 35 euros per person. We paid the cab driver and guide directly. Bear in mind that the cost of the tour included the admission fees to these sights.
As soon as we got to the city center, we immediately realized duty free shopping was big here, very big. Stores lined main street on both sides.
There were lots of souvenir stores in Gibraltar. We checked one duty free store and inquired about the price of one Gucci perfume I saw in San Francisco selling for $100 plus tax at the airport duty free shop. Over in Gibraltar, it cost 70 euros after a special discount. I should have bought it, I told myself over and over after we left for Malaga later that day.
Here's a t-shirt with the famous monkey from the Rock of Gibraltar.
Debenhams was there too! How could it not be, it's very British.
There were cafes and outdoor restaurants galore.
I was surprised to see restaurants with ham hanging from the ceiling. It was just like the eateries we saw all over Spain!
This was the bank from whose ATM machine we took money out from. I took a picture of it just to remind us where and what the bank's name was just in case there were problems later on in our bank statements. Honestly, there weren't any.
This was the view of one marina from the Rock of Gibraltar.
The peak of the Rock!
What a resort down below. Taken from the skypark at the top of the Rock.
Here's a view of the border between Spain and Gibraltar. Top half is Spain, bottom half is Gibraltar. Taken from the Rock.
There were many English style buildings in the city center. This was one of them.
This was Commonwealth Park. The heat in Gibraltar was stifling around mid day onwards. Really intense just like all over Southern Spain.
This was the American Memorial.
The old Post Office Building
This was a monument dedicated to all the Spaniards who both worked in Gibraltar as well as to those who continue to do so up to the present time. Though Gibraltar may be a slice of the UK in Southern Europe, Gibraltar is as much Spanish as it is British. The locals we met here spoke both English and Spanish fluently and conversed in both languages with a lot of ease.