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A
recommended Spain Travel Agent - see my review.
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Many people don't feel a visit
to Gibraltar is worth the time, as it's not Spain
and it's not really like visiting the British
Isles. Still, I found my visit to the Rock of
Gibraltar to be a welcome relief from touring
another cathedral or castle.
| Gibraltar's main
sights:
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A view of
the "Rock" from the airport
runway.
Gibraltar is rich in
history; to the early Greek and Romans,
Gibraltar was one of the two pillars
erected by Hercules to mark the edge of
the world. For many citizens of the USA,
the "Rock" has been permanently
marked into their childhood through
repeated viewing of an insurance company
advertisement that touted the company to
be"as stable as the Rock of
Gibraltar!"
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| Outside Links Specific
to Gibraltar:
The Tourism Board web
site
History
& Politics
Nature
& Wildlife
The M@G
a web-zine on Gibraltar
Interactive Map of Gibraltar, click on
the "Map of Gib." link to the
left then look for the "info"
symbols to click on.
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St. Michael's
cave is one of the sights (within the
rock) of Gibraltar.
Getting there:
La Lina, Spain is the primary gateway to
Gibraltar. The border crossing is
located across from La Lina's main
square, the Plaza de la Constitucion. We
got a hotel in LaLina and then walked
across to Gibraltar. You can take a car,
but do check in a guidebook as there are
some extra requirements.
In my 2000 visit to Gibraltar it was fairly easy to cross from Spain into Gibraltar. We were asked
to show our passports (they didn't stamp
them) on entry to Gibraltar. On the
return to Spain we were just waved
through.
A view from the
cable car
Once you get through customs, you
get to walk across the airport runway. If
you don't see any cars crossing with you,
do look for the crosswalk light and
verify the way is clear with no planes
landing.
I like to walk. For me to really
experience a place, I have to huff and
puff a little, and Gibraltar provides a
lot of opportunity for huffing and
puffing. If you're a walker, ignore all the
tour-by- car offers and walk up the main
street, through the shopping district,
until you get to the cable car. The cable
car drops you off at the top of the rock
and you can use it to return to the
bottom or just walk down as we did. Plan
on walking for about 6 or more hours to
see the Rock (Even though you start at
the top, this is up, as well as some down
walking). If you only have a few hours
and lack your own car, you will need to
take one of the taxi or van
tours. They like to have at least four
people and charge around 7 pounds per
person (Nature Reserve tickets are extra).
By car the tour takes about 1 1/2 hours.
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A view
of Africa from Gibraltar