ROCK ME BABY

A day off from golf today and we are turning tourista and heading to Gibraltar. THE ROCK. We don’t have any tour planned or anything, just going to wing it. There are operators who will pick you up at your hotel/condo in Estepona or Marbella and take you there, tour you around and drop you back at home…….ka-ching$$…….but Little Ninja is just ripe and ready for a road trip. Off we go…….only 45 minutes to the border, and talks of parking in Spain and walking over went out the window when I realized how far I would have to walk.  The warnings of huge lineups at customs never materialized, and we breezed through, passports stamped and all that.  After pulling over and loading the cable car station into the nav we began  making our way through town……figured that was about as good a target as any….…busy place, and the closer we got, we thought we should be grabbing a parking spot ASAP.  Again, warnings of no parking available, but that was crap also.  We did park, and hoof it to the cable car station, where there was a half empty parking lot waiting for us……….brilliant. 

The goats went off to do their business and I was to check out getting a ride up The Rock.  I overheard a tour operator giving his spiel to another couple and it sounded good……..asked him what was the deal, and his guys basically drive you to all the usual attractions, give you the low down on the way, and their fee basically equals the entry fees you would normally pay……….but if you would rather wait in line for almost two hours that’s up to you (he points back to a huge lineup for the cable car) we are going to get you to the same spot plus all the other attractions……….good scam, but exactly what we are looking for………the goats agree.  I wonder how the cable car guys feel about these operators preying on their prospective clients in their parking lot?………I’m sure everyone is making a buck and they don’t care.

We start chatting with a foursome from Oregon…….Dad in Spain to compete in the Ironman World C’s in Marbella and wife, daughter, son-in law, his support group.  We decide we will tour together……….oh yeah…….received apologies……..”We really love you Canadians, all that other stuff if such bullshit.”………and away we go……..passenger van just like the people mover I had in Ireland this spring. Our driver is a wealth of information, speaks perfect English, and can fit the van through spaces and around corners you wouldn’t believe. He gives us the scoop on all the attractions, but has time to tell us a little about Gibraltar in general, and how it is to live there.

Clearly Gibraltar has an interesting history, but since 1713 when it was ceded to the British it became, and remains, a British Overseas Territory. Land area is only 2.6 square miles, population about 34,000, the rock is about 1,400ft high, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, virtually no poverty, middle-upper middle class standard of living across the board, thousands of Spaniards cross the border daily to work, online gaming and financial/offshore services are huge in Gibraltar, there are more lawyers per capita there than anywhere else (checked that one, and no data exists), tax free port, electricity is produced by either natural gas or diesel generators………..and so much more………I am going to get a book and read it………but suffice to say for those who live there, it is a pretty nice place.

The tour goes well…….pictures will tell the story, but it was very interesting and we are so glad it is not high season…….thousands of people a day take these tours, and today it feels like just hundreds. Highlights for us were…….just being there on top of The Rock……..views incredible……Africa seems so close……..the monkeys…….the population is monitored……all are chipped, vaccinated, and well fed……Jutta and Sibylle both took turns holding the little fellas, and couldn’t wait to wash their hands afterwards………the tunnels are amazing……..early excavations done by hand……”The Siege Tunnels” for storage and defensive purposes during the various attempts to defeat whoever was in possession at the time…….these were hugely expanded upon by the British during WWII…….eventually 34 miles worth of tunnels, capable of housing 16,000 men with stores to last as long as 16 months without re-supply.

With our tour over, we had opted for a walk back to town, and hopefully find where we left the car. I bribed a tour bus driver to give me a ride anywhere close to the cable car station, and the goats were happy to get some miles in, even though most of it was downhill. Hooked up back at Little Ninja and scooted back up the road……..hungry…….stopped at Duquesa Marina for beers and fuel…….back home in no time.

Dinner tonight back at Plaza De Las Flores in Jutta’s new favourite hotel……Hotel Pilar….another great meal, bottle of vino, and we check out the rooftop sushi joint before leaving……..obviously will be coming back for that one!