Gibraltar

Gibraltar, Gibraltar. That's right, Gibraltar is the name of the "country" (actually a British territory) and the name of the main/only city on it. If you're driving to Gibraltar as I was, this is your first real view of "the Rock" as people more commonly call it. I prefer "the Rock" because it's easier to spell. This tiny country sits on a small peninsula that sticks out from the southern part of Spain into the Straights of Gibraltar. It's a major shipping port and of huge strategic military value. Spain would very much like to reclaim this Rock, to which the British politely respond "no thank you".

Gibraltar. Quite possibly the craziest entry-point to any country in the world - driving straight across the middle of an active runway! Pedestrians, cars, busses, bikes etc etc all come and go across this huge runway at Gibraltar's only airport. It's kinda surreal driving across this "border", expecting a 747 to swoop in any second. Of course they close the border every time a flight comes in, and this creates huge traffic backups. All in all I found driving here to be a royal (pun intended) pain in the @ss! Way too much traffic in too tight of an area. Strangely enough they drive on the right (American/European) side of the road here, the only British country I've ever seen that does so.

Two views from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar-

Above: Looking north, everything on the near side of the harbor is Gibraltar, everything in the distance is Spain. The highest point on the rock (upper right in pic) is a British military post, off-limits to the public. There must be great views from up there.

Left: Looking south across the Straights of Gibraltar, with Africa (Morocco, specifically) in the distance. It's only 12 miles away, close enough to take a ferry across for the day.

Getting to the top is half the fun. You could cheat and take the cable car up for a few $$, or just hike the thing and get some exercise along with the fantastic views. The best trail on the rock by far is the Mediteranean Steps, shown in all 5 photos above. It runs up the southeast side of the mountain through all kinds of wild terrain. Whoever laid out this trail was demented. There are plenty of narrow ledges, steep drop-offs, impossible winding staircases, and above all, unbeatable views of Gibraltar, Spain, and Africa.

Gibraltar is the only place in Europe with an indigenous monkey population. Makes sense I guess, since it's the closest point to Africa. Monkeys are all over the top part of the mountain. If you ever come here: Watch Your Stuff. They will steal you blind! A good time to visit is mid afternoon, when most of them are napping.

This is a side of Gibraltar that I never knew about - the inside. This rock is just riddled with holes running every which way. There are fantastic natural caves like St Michael's Cave with huge stalac -tites & -mites, made even more surreal by the great lighting. There's also miles of man-made caves dug out by the Brits over a 200-year period. Both types of tunnels were used extensively in WW1 and WW2.

There's more to Gibraltar than just a big ol' rock. The surrounding residential areas are typically British: orderly (except for the traffic), clean, and very very ... cute.

I didn't spend much time at all over in the main business district of Gibraltar - it was just too hectic. Plus, it seemed like just another bustling commercial district, although maybe a little nicer and more exotic than most. This is a rare moment of calm from the otherwise insane traffic in this place. The reason there was little traffic is that the "border" was closed for a few minutes because an airplane was landing on it!

One thing about this place: It's very compact. The rock takes up most of the available space in this "country" so everything else just has to squeeze in 'till it fits. This is the view from my balcony- this little village was crammed in between the Rock of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea.