WORDS AND PICTURES: Yannic Hannover
Connect with Yannic on Instagram | Red Elephant LX
I look at my phone and try to think of why on Earth the Google Maps application is constantly trying to fool me into some nasty traffic. This time though, it went too far. Here is the situation: We want to travel by car to Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory located in the very south of Spain – and Google Maps, in fact, tells us to drive across the International Airport (!!) in order to get there. Or, even more precisely and highly ridiculously, it wants me to cross the runway, as if it was a casual intersection. I have a closer look at the map to inspect the geographical situation and, well, the border of Spain and Gibraltar lies just in front of the Gibraltar International Airport. I can’t figure out if there is any other way around it, but it doesn’t seem so. I keep expecting to find myself driving the car through a tunnel or something similar (whatever that might be?!) but I also try to stop worrying: we are already waiting in line with several other commuters and tourists that appear to have taken the same route.
Fast-forward to 20 minutes later, when we show our passports to a truly British border patrol officer. Just a few seconds later, a British Airways aircraft touches down maybe 100-200 meters away from us; we start the engine and drive casually across the runway, as if this is how you do it here. And it is. No tunnel, no bridge, no teleportation, no way around. It is in this moment that I can’t believe that the only thing I knew about Gibraltar until this point were the monkeys on the gigantic rock. And I immediately apologised to Google Maps. I’m kidding. I didn’t do that – we are still at war.
Once you are in, you realise it is quite a special place, Gibraltar. You can catch sight of some old, very Spanish-looking buildings, right next to some old, very English-looking pubs. On the other side of the country, you can find the shinier Marina Bay and Ocean Village. Upon arriving, and checking Gibraltar for some breakfast options, we ended up at the World Trade Centre. It sounds weird – it is kind of weird – but there it was: the place where you could find bowls and smoothies. Since our visit, the place seems now to be closed, but try to get an update on Supernatural Gibraltar before you go, if this is what you desire. And, of course, you can pay with either Euros or Pounds, and people usually speak both Spanish and English. However, the only really important thing you want to be sure of is that you have enough energy to spend a day walking around the gigantic rock.
Read more from Yannic | How (Not) to Visit Granada’s Alhambra
How do you get up there, you ask? Well, you might want to go up the easy way, which for sure is by cable car. Just leave your car down at the car park by the station, and make sure to leave your latest golden or silver necklace there, as well; you are on your way to monkey territory. And these guys do not mess around. Okay, I guess usually it’s not that dramatic, and the frequent Instagram traveller is obviously already familiar with the animals through his or her annual yoga retreat to Bali and its famous monkey forest. Take the cable car all the way up, step out of the small cabin, and enjoy the truly spectacular view. It has a “top of the world” feeling. Then make sure to catch some playing monkeys – which are literally everywhere due to some tourists who, against all warnings, still try to feed the little monsters – with your phone, from a distance. When you get too close, your phone as well as other just loosely-attached belongings – like your NY cap from the Empire State or your recently-customised, fancy sunglasses – might change ownership. Once you are up, there are a lot of ways to get down again.
“Once you are in, you realise it is quite a special place, Gibraltar. You can catch sight of old, very Spanish-looking buildings, right next to old, very English-looking pubs.“
But that is not what you want right now. Not yet. You want to make sure to explore the rock in more detail. There are several tunnel systems to explore inside the rock, some dating back to the Second World War and others even back to the 18th Century. There is also another astonishing viewpoint called the Skywalk. It was opened a number of years ago by Luke Skywalker, a.k.a. Mark Hamill, and is honestly more a glass terrace than a “walk”, but is nevertheless cool to check out. And then get out your map and navigate your way down, which can take from half an hour to several hours, depending on which route you choose. On one of the ways down you might encounter a suspension bridge, which… Well, is what it is.
But the great thing is, there is no right or wrong way. Take your time, and check out all the things the rock has to offer. No matter what path you choose to follow, a great view is guaranteed. You might need to step over some monkeys here and there, who don’t seem to be willing to move away from their daily delousing spots. Who can blame them?!
After a day on the rock, there are several options to end your day with a nice dinner in Gibraltar. We, however, chose to fill our hungry bellies in a Lidl already on the other side of the border, in the outskirts of a town called La Línea de la Concepción. This might not have been the ideal option to end a one-day trip, but the special place named Gibraltar, with its gigantic rock, nevertheless did not disappoint.
Explore neighbouring Spain | Valencia, Spain: City Guide
