Europe on a Shoestring: Gibraltar

After looking at our options regarding our trips to Gibraltar and Granada, we decided that hiring a car for 2 days would be our best (and cheapest) option as we have to pay a reservation fee every time we board a Spanish train. Kiryn was happy to be our driver for the whole time which allowed the rest of us to take photos along the way, albeit not very good ones. We headed down to the Avis Rent-a-Car office at the station to collect a car getting a bite to eat at the station café. Our car turned out to be a very modern Renault Megane with keyless ignition! It had a computerized dash and the only difficult thing to find was reverse gear- ah, we didn’t need it anyway, so off we went.

Stopping at a petrol station for a map, (none came with the car), we bought a large block of artisan-made chocolate which kept us going until lunchtime. We arrived at the border of Gibraltar and Spain in less than 3 hours but spent another hour just waiting to get across. Not the most efficient system in operation here!

Gibraltar surprised us with its size- we thought it was just a big rock- but there’s a whole town built around the rock, and we wended our way through (very) narrow streets to the cable car station in order to reach the top of the rock. The option of walking did not appeal especially since we had read about the vicious Barbary apes and I was not keen to come face to face with one in the bush. However, no sooner had we reached the top that we saw the cutest little ape, then another than another, and I lost my paranoia about being attacked by apes.

We had a delicious lunch of pies- a long time since we’ve seen a real pie so I pigged out and had two! And I complain about my weight. And a beer to wash it down of course! We went out to the southernmost point and looked across to Africa, which was barely visible in the clouds.

I followed a little behind as we ventured out along the walking paths. I had only wandered a few steps from the door when two HUGE apes came running towards me. Jesus Christ! I yelled. But they ran straight past me and attacked a woman with a chocolate bar snatching it off her. She was traumatised by the attack but she must not have read the sign saying eat all food within the confines of the building in Spanish and English. Kiryn thought my iPhone looked enough like a chocolate bar to provoke an attack so I stopped taking photos and put it in safely in my handbag.

Kiryn and I then retreated to the safety of the restaurant and bought some cute postcards with stamps to send home. If I know your address off by heart, watch out for a postcard in the mail! In Gibraltar, they use pounds sterling as well as euro, but charged my credit card in pounds. We wrote our cards until Lorelle and Elizabeth returned then headed down the rock again. Following the signs, we drove out to the Europa Point Lighthouse and looked across to Africa, which was clearer than from the top of the rock. Maybe some of the clouds had cleared.

We then drove back to the border via an alternate route right through the middle of the rock! How exciting! We didn’t actually know if we were allowed to or not as ours was the only car in the tunnel but we had been waved on the stop-go man so we went! Maybe he thought we were royalty-unlikely- or British.

Kiryn then drove us all the way back to Cordoba without a single complaint. It was a long day. We were all tired and we hadn’t even been driving all day. We ordered in again the same as last night, but were sorely disappointed in the results- cold hamburgers and wedges that took an hour and a half to be delivered. I had drunk quite a few gin squashes by the time they arrived so we ate and went to bed.