No trip to the southern coast of Spain would be complete without a visit to Gibraltar. The Rock itself is an enormous, white limestone monolith jutting out into the strait of the same name and it is impossible to miss. Gibraltar's rock can be seen from a large chunk of the Andalusian coast from Baelo Claudia to Torreguardiano where the site line is not blocked by any one of the other mountains that dot the landscape.
The territory of Gibraltar is still held by the United Kingdom, a bone of contention between Spain and Great Britain that remains unsettled to this day. But don't let any worries stop you from journeying there; aside from the occasional protest on either side of the line, there are no visible signs of any political tensions. However, being a possession of England, the Rock lies outside of Schengen territory, meaning you technically need your passport to cross from La Linea de la Concepcion. I say "technically" because when I passed through the border crossing the guard did not bother to ask for my passport and my fiance and I only got ours stamped when we realized we had to go back to the entrance and ask the guard for one.
Gibraltar is a part of the metropolitan area that rings the top of the Bay that includes the municipalities of Algeciras, Los Barrios, San Roque and La Linea de la Concepcion (La Linea). Getting to the area isn't as difficult as it might be if it were in, say, the United States, but it is more remote than I've come to expect in Spain. There is no direct train to the settlement itself, but there is a Renfe depot located in Algeciras. You can be reach this station from Seville's Santa Justa station with just one intervening stop although it is not a short journey. From there you can catch a bus to La Linea, where the bus station is just a short walk to the border.
If you've rented a car in Seville or one of the coastal towns, the trip to La Linea will probably be quicker, but I would recommend you park your car there and walk across the frontier. According to some sites the border crossing can take up to two hours by car in summer and even in November when we went, there was quite the line. I would site as another reason to leave the car in La Linea the fact that the ten-minute journey from the border to Casemate's Square takes you across a live, working runway which I found quite interesting and unique. There are a number of different pubs advertising fish and chips and other typically British fare both in the square and along the primary shopping road, Main Street, but as we had had a fantastic Spanish lunch and were unwilling to pay the exchange rate into pound sterling, the three of us instead took in the scenery and experience as a whole.
I have read that Gibraltar is a popular shopping destination as no Value Added Tax, which I have personally seen as high as 18% in Spain, is assessed. However, as I stated above, the prices on everything are in pound sterling and the exchange rate when we were there was decidedly unfavorable against both the euro and the dollar, so we did no real shopping save for attempting to locate a new battery for Sarah's camera. I also found it quite peculiar that by the time we had arrived on Main Street, nearly 17.00, most of the shoppes were either shuttered or getting ready to do so for the evening. Sadly, this included the cable car to the top of the Rock as well, although we had the option to take a guided cab tour to the peak for about 15 euros per person. Our party opted for frugality instead, figuring we'd probably miss sunset anyway which is why I had really wanted to go. I did talk the crew into waiting for me as I snapped a few shots of the sunset over Gibdock.
I would certainly say Gibraltar is worth seeing, although if you plan to go in winter you should get there early in the day; sunset is around 18.00 and the shoppes and other touristy things start evaporating around that time. Summer is probably as good a time as any to head there, although if you're looking for beaches I would venture to say that the sights on the Spanish side of the frontier are probably as good as any you'd see in Gibraltar and a bit less trouble to get to, particularly if you want to bring your beach gear in your car.
On a final note, it is my understanding from no less an authority than a Briton himself that Gibraltar is decidedly not an accurate representation of Britain itself. It has many of the looks I would expect to see in the UK but there's quite a bit of Spanish spoken there and the English sounds strange as well. (I can't speak to how the Spanish sounds as I don't understand nearly as much of the language as I would like to.) And don't feed the monkeys that inhabit the top of the Rock.
Take note: While I usually like to highlight my own photos, "Gibraltar" and "Top o the Rock" were photographed by my lovely and talented fiance. I did a bit of Photoshopping and they are now on display here for the world to see.
