During my recent cruise holiday from back in February (wow! it's been that long!) my penultimate stop was on UK soil but not in UK - Gibraltar. Affectionately known as Gib by the locals, it's a tiny little tip off Spain measuring 6.7 square km with 32k population. I won't get into the politics of Spain wanting this little bit of land, but luckily with Spain being a much more civilised nation than others who shall remain unnamed, they have not invaded by force and the Gib still remains a British territory.
| One could easily think they're in UK when you | see the red post box and telephone booth |
|---|---|
The Rock
I spent just a few hours in Gibraltar barely enough to see anything to be honest. I didn't even go up to The Rock which is probably what 90% of first time visitors will do. Apparently you can catch a cable car to ascend 425m up to the highest point and get a birds-eye view of Gib. I was with my sister who's been a few times already and I wasn't too fussed about whether I go or not. Seeing the Rock at ground level was pretty impressive, from the moment I got off our cruise ship..
in the town centre
and the view when I was on Spanish soil.
Hopping over to Spain
Spain? Yes, I just said I was in Spain even though I'm in Gibraltar. Confused? Don't be.
Given that Gib is just a little tip off Spain, there is a lot of movement between the two countries, and it is very easy to cross the border. You still need the valid visas and paperwork of course! The border is open 24 x 7 and you can either drive through or walk across like I did.
For me, it was more of a novelty, going through the border considering that I didn't venture more than 100 meters into Spain and only spent half an hour there. Plus I wanted a stamp on my swanky new post Brexit passport.
Gibraltar Airport
Gibraltar Airport was definitely the highlight of the trip as it's most famous for its runway. The airport is located right by the border with Spain on Winston Churchill Avenue. You can see The Rock from here again.
Every airport has a runway, and that it always off limits to people because of the danger of planes landing and taking off. Not here though. You can actually walk on the runway, how cool is that!! Here I'm on the Winston Churchill Avenue with Gibraltar behind me, the Rock is on the right which you can't see. Spain is ahead of me, and the airport terminal is the building on the right had side. You can see a plane on the tarmac.
This is the view on my left hand side from where I'm standing. My cruise ship is docked by the buildings. And this is the actual runway that intersects with the Winston Churchill Avenue.
You can see the plane skid marks on the tarmac, that is how close I am on the runway, I'm actually on it!!! And that's how cool this airport is. One minute, pedestrians and drivers are on the road, and the next (ok, maybe not literally the next, but you get what I mean) a plane zooms pass on exactly the same spot as the pedestrians were standing.
Flash visit to Gib
I didn't take many photos during my visit and you may have noticed the photo quality is rather bad compared to my normal ones. I had to take stills from the videos I took and they're not the best quality. Hopefully it will give a you little taster of Gib.
My next and last part of my cruise holiday will be in Cadiz, hopefully I will finish the post very soon.
In the meanwhile, if you're interest in the other parts of my cruise holiday, you can check them out here
All onboard ready to sail away
The first four days of my cruise holiday
Winning £1000 to complete a whisky hoard
A tram ride to La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
A open air museum in La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Fuerteventura is (nearly) the most boring place
Lanzarote, a nice island in Spain