One overseas territory of the United Kingdom I have always wanted to get to is Gibraltar. I wanted to know why my country has a little bit of land on the southern tip of Spain surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. I am not going to get to the politics of who has the rights to Gibraltar, that’s not my problem. If anyone wants to know this, research it, and it's a bit long winded. And I thought the Falkland Islands and Argentina were a hot topic. (OK, if you want to know the history, it’s at the bottom of this post). However I wanted to come here to see the natural landscape, the wildlife and possibly meet a local or two and see what life is like in this part of the world.
The main place I wanted to see was the Rock of Gibraltar to which the locals call it The Rock. 426 meters in height (1,398 feet), the Rock can be seen for miles. There is another reason why I wanted to go to the top of the mountain and I will explain it a bit. Olga & I came here in the height of the summer so we decided to get the cable car to the top and hike down as it was around late morning when we arrived.
Parking up near the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens and after queueing for a while, we were on our way to the top of the Rock. The cable car first started operating in 1966 and was built by friends from Switzerland (they get everywhere around the world with their cable cars). However this isn’t the first cable car to be built here, there is evidence of an earlier cable station that used to bring supplies up to the top of the rock via rope and these can still be seen today. The cable car stops midway at the Ape’s Den but we didn’t get off here, we carried up to the top of the Rock (like 99% of visitors also do). A journey time of six minutes stuffed in a packed car with thirty people was actually quite enjoyable. The views whilst going up took my mind off the sweaty other tourists. At the top station there is a restaurant, cafe, and toilet facilities.
Whilst at the top, there are terraces which offer amazing views across the Strait of Gibraltar (and this is where I got my first ever views of Morocco and Africa as I have never been to the other side of the Mediterranean when we visited here in July 2011). Also the views along the east coast towards Marbella are truly stunning.
Here is the main reason for our trip. To see the Barbary Macaques which are known as the Rock Apes. They originally came from the Atlas Mountains and Rif Mountains in Morocco and while they are decreasing in numbers in Northern Africa, the numbers here in Gibraltar are increasing. There are over three hundred Barbary Macaques on the Rock! History states that the Barbary Macaques were on the Rock long before Great Britain took over the island in 1704, findings have been found in historical records in the early 1600s. There is legend that as long as the Gibraltar Barbary Macaques exist in Gibraltar, the territory will remain under British rule. Then shock horror occurred in 1942 (during the Second World War) that the population of the Barbary Macaques went down to seven. Winston Churchill who was the British prime minister at the time was shitting himself and ordered their numbers to be replenished straight away and grabbed some more monkeys from Morocco. Churchill really believed in this legend.
When visiting the Rock, if just to see the views, take a ride up the cable car, talk a walk in the underground tunnels, visitors are very likely to see the Barbary Macaques. Here is a few helpful tips:
Direct contact with the Barbary Macaques is strongly discouraged. Even though they are used to humans, picking them up and putting them on your shoulders is not a good thing to do. Even hugging them like a baby is not advised. They are still wild animals and if something frightens them, they will attack you.
Keep items on you close and secure. I found out that the camera which was hanging around my neck was grabbed by a little Barbary Macaque and tried to run down the path with it. I am a fast runner so he had no chance. The mother of the baby was just looking on, thinking, god, my child is a twat. But I felt like a twat as well.
Do not feed them. Let the authorities feed them the right foods. Do not hand feed them. They will lose their way if this carries on.
Recognise their warning signals – when threatened, the Barbary Macaques will give a warning which resembles a pouted mouth. Called the Round Mouth Threat (RMT) to which the macaque looks directly at the human who is being annoying with raised eyebrows. The gesture is usually silent but for the occasional ‘pant’ means ‘No’ or ‘Stop’. If a Barbary Macaque directs a RMT at the human, stop whatever annoying action it is that you are doing and step back calmly to give the macaque some space. This will reassure the macaque and it will stop displaying its threat gesture. Failure to do so would mean the macaque, having pre-warned you will need to resort to lunge or call for backup. Then a group of macaques will jump on the human, killing it and having you for lunch. So respect them! (Well, not sure if they will kill the humans but you get the idea!).
Make sure you give them space. Don’t stress them out. Even if there is a mother and a baby in front of you, don’t get close. It's a very stressful experience and the RMT as in point four kicks in. Get your ass away from them!.
It is illegal to touch the Barbary Macaques. Enough said.
I am not joking, we saw quite a lot of Barbary Macaques whilst at the top of the Rock. We did a few trails up here (underneath the trees to keep cool) before eventually taking a staircase all the way down to the town centre of Gibraltar (even then we were coming across the little rascals, it was like one of them didn’t want us to walk away and wanted a cuddle...no!).
After we did our self-guided walking tour of top of the Rock and saw the Barbary Macaques, we had a quick wander in the town. We met a local policeman who was born and bred in Gibraltar. He is known as a Gibraltarian. Speaks the local lingo (whatever Gibraltarians speak), Spanish and of course, the Queen’s English. Pleasant chap told us to have tea and scones in a cafe down the road. Walking along the main street with all the shops, it was just horrible. It reminded me of towns back home with palm streets dotted about. It was a bit of a tourist trap here so to be honest, later on in the day, we got back in the car and drove back to our base near Malaga. One bit of advice when driving here, don’t stop in the middle of the airport runway (as the only road between Gibraltar and Spain goes across the runway). That’s when I got spoken to very harshly by another police lady. I sure learnt that lesson. Moments later, the runway/road was shut to traffic and a plane landed. All exciting.
History which I researched on Gibraltar and why it is under British rule
We are going to have to look a bit further back but Gibraltar was under British control. In 1462, Gibraltar was captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia, from the Emirate of Granada. After the conquest, Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. Six years later, Gibraltar was restored to the Duke of Medina Sidonia, who sold it in 1474 to a group of 4,350 conversos (Christian converts from Judaism) from Cordoba and Seville and in exchange for maintaining the garrison of the town for two years, after which time they were expelled, returning to their home towns or moving on to other parts of Spain. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, and Isabella I of Castile issued a Royal Warrant granting Gibraltar the coat of arms that it still uses today.
In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet, representing the Grand Alliance, captured the town of Gibraltar on behalf of the Archduke Charles of Austria in his campaign to become King of Spain. Subsequently, most of the population left the town, with many settling nearby. As the Alliance's campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated, which ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britain's withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made, with the siege of 1727, and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779 to 1783), during the American War of Independence.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Gibraltar became a key base for the Royal Navy and played an important role leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805). Designated one of four Imperial fortresses (along with Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, and Malta), its strategic location made it a key base during the Crimean War of 1854–1856. In the 18th century, the peacetime military garrison fluctuated in numbers from a minimum of 1,100 to a maximum of 5,000. The first half of the 19th century saw a significant increase of population to more than 17,000 in 1860, as people from Britain and all around the Mediterranean – Italian, Portuguese, Maltese, Jewish and French – took up residence in the town.
Its strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal, as it lay on the sea route between the UK and the British Empire east of Suez. In the late 19th century, major investments were made to improve the fortifications and the port.
So that’s what happened and how the British have Gibraltar. Like I said earlier, I am not going into too much as I am British but if that is how history played out, then fair enough. I have a lot of Spanish friends and every time we talk about Gibraltar, they get a bit defensive etc despite knowing the history which I wrote here. I shake my head sometimes. If Britain ever decided to rip up the treaty and give the land back to Spain, fair enough. I only say this because I don’t like friction between people and personally, Gibraltar doesn’t affect me. It's just another town with a mountain on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Essential information on Gibraltar
How to get to Gibraltar: It is fairly easy to get to. Gibraltar does have an international airport in the north of the territory and is located next to the border post with Spain. (The runway actually crosses the main road between Spain and the main part of Gibraltar, when a flight is landing or taking off, the road is shut off so the plane can do its movements). British Airways and Easyjet are the only airlines to serve Gibraltar.
The first place I would go to find airline tickets to the city is using (I would recommend) Skyscanner to find flights as that is my first point of call. Then if necessary use the airlines directly to find a good deal. I sometimes use Momondo as well to compare prices before booking.
Driving to Gibraltar is fairly easy and is located a couple of kilometers south of the main highway, A-7, which runs from Algeciras (located to the west of Gibraltar) and runs along the Costa del Sol passing Malaga before finishing up near Valencia and connects with other highways heading towards Madrid and Barcelona).
There is a ferry port in Gibraltar. However, apart from the cruise ships, there is a service which goes to Northern Morocco but only runs about once or twice a month. Anyone for Morocco should head to the ferry port at Tarifa and have a service to Tanigers.
Car Rentals - as I do a lot of road trips around the world, I use Rentalcars.com which is very reliable for booking car hire in advance. I also use Turo (the airbnb of car rentals) and never had a problem with them. The cars are insured, owners vetted and never had an issue.
Accommodation: There are a lot of accommodation options and a lot of websites which can do some great deals. My first point of call is always Booking.com and can offer a range of hostels, hotels, campsites, apartments, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts.. After that I always have a look through AirBnb and Vrbo for great deals on apartments and other lodgings especially when traveling as a family.
Currency: Gibraltar uses the Gibraltar Pound and is pegged to the British Pound. A great website I use to compare currency exchange rates is XE, which gives people up to date information.
Language: Gibraltar uses the English language and is used all over the territory as well as Spanish and the local dialect of Llanito.
Travel insurance: This is essential to anywhere you go in the world. I always carry travel insurance. Having travel insurance will cover you from theft, illness and those annoying cancellations which can happen on the road. Safety Wing offers coverage for a lot of adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and so forth.
If you would like to share my blog post via Pinterest, please share the pin below
Please note that while I was not working with any companies in Gibraltar, my review and experiences written about in this post are 100% genuine. I value my readers too much to lie to you. My blog would be nothing without you and your continued support! There maybe some links above which are affiliate and are at no additional cost to you. If my readers use them, I earn a commission to buy their products and remember, I only mentioned products and companies I use. The income from this keeps this website going. Thank you.
Comments