Marbella and Gibraltar

After touring the Algarve area of Portugal, Carrie and I drove east along the Costa del Sol to Marbella, Spain, a toney enclave hugging the southern shores of Spain along the Mediterranean. The views from our friend Renae’s apartment were stunning. As you can see from the photo above, not only do you get to watch the lapping azure waters below, but in the distance you see the Pillars of Hercules. From the left, in the horizon, is the mountain top of Jebel Musa in Morocco. The Rock of Gibraltar is the next promontory that you see to the right, separated by the Strait of Gibraltar. So much history has occurred in these seas and passed though that narrow strip of water where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean! We had wanted to visit Gibraltar the last time we were in Spain, but couldn’t make it work in our itinerary. We were so happy to make it here on this trip. The views from on top the Rock were amazing and it was fun to get to observe the famous Barbary macaque wild monkeys up close. Our tour guide regaled us with stories of the mischievous monkeys and warned us of one particular “cheeky monkey” who will joyfully jump into any vehicle who’s driver is careless enough to leave the door open.

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Gibraltar is an enigma. Although it is physically on a strip of land attached to Spain, the small community is actually a British Overseas Territory, which was ceded to the British in 1713. Driving into Gibraltar from La Linea de la Concepion, on the Spanish side, we passed through customs, and then crossed an active jet runway before entering British territory. We were warned to ”look right, look left and look up!”. Everything we encountered reminded us we were not in Spain any more. The restaurants charged us in Pounds Sterling, not Euros. British shops and pubs abounded and we were delighted to see fish and chips abundantly available.

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