Gibraltar: A Taste of Britain and Monkey Attacks
Trip Start
May 15, 2008
1
5
60
Trip End
Jul 24, 2008
Gibraltar,
Gibraltar
Thursday, May 22, 2008
We got there, crossing the passport checkpoint and customs control at the border, and walked across the border onto the isthmus. The border itself is unique - to get to the town and the rock, you have to walk across an RAF airstrip that has now transitioned mostly to private, commercial use. Since only 6 flights come in a day, almost all from the UK, people mostly just walk across, but when a flight comes in, traffic is completely stopped.
We went straight to Casemate's square, a huge square full of shops and restaurants that's more or less the social hub of Gibraltar
Gibraltar - View of Rock
. After hanging out there for half an hour, we heard a speaker at the Chamber of Commerce talking about the political and economic status of Gibraltar. It was quite interesting because Gibraltar's situation is so unique. Britain has held Gibraltar legally since 1713, when a treaty signed by Britain and defeated Spain ceded the rock permanently over to the United Kingdom. Britain coveted the tiny isthmus so much because of its strategic location on the entryway to the Mediterranean. In fact, it was instrumental in the Battle of Trafalgar and in various other British naval operations. Now the outpost is a refueling station for over 10% of the 90,000 ships that cross through the Straight of Gibraltar annually. It's also become a valuable offshore financial center and a home to many internet gambling companies. Making Gibraltar even more strategic is the fact that Britain has expensive radio equipment there which can listen in on practically all conversations in the Western Mediterranean.Spain obviously wants Gibraltar back. After all, it is hundreds of miles away from Britain and only has a contiguous border with Spain. Plus, between 1462 (when it was reconquered from the Mores) and 1704 (when Britain won it in battle), it was territory of the Spanish crown. British doesn't want to give such a strategic position away; it could be an example for other powers in other places near British territories (think Argentina and the Falklands)
Gibraltar - View of Rock from Summit
.People who argue against Spain regaining Gibraltar point to the fact that Spain maintains two similar outposts on the northern coast of Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla. Morocco is making a similar claim to these territories that Spain makes on Gibraltar. So, people say that logically if Spain is to regain Gibraltar, she must be willing to cede the two cities to Morocco, which Spanish nationalists are completely unwilling to do.
Further complicating the matter is the fact that because Franco closed the border between Gibraltar and Spain in an attempt to strangle it into submission, the Gibraltarians had to survive on their own and by British help. This created a unique identity for its inhabitants, who are fiercely loyal to the crown and who have no interest of joining Spain. Another complication to the diplomacy is the fact that both Britain and Spain are EU members. Obviously, no war will happen again, but there are ongoing negotiations, debating over complicated issues of sovereignty and the validity of the 1713 treaty.
After the presentation at the Chamber of Commerce and lunch, we headed straight to Main Street, the quaint street that spans from Casemate's Square and the cable car up to the rock's summit. The street was a strange mix of Spanish architecture and quintessentially British things like bright red telephone booths, fish and chips pubs, and double decker buses
Gibraltar - View of Morocco
. The most amazing thing for me was the lushness of the vegetation. I'm used to Carolina coastal palm trees, tall and thin, but the palm trees here were as thick around as an oak with bushy, leafy tops that stood out remarkably against the blue sky. There were also all sorts of colorful floral arrangements on the sides of the streets and in little niches and squares along the 15 or 20 minute walk up to where the cable car takes off. All along the way, drivers were trying to convince us to go with them instead of taking the cable car. I'd recommend others doing what we did though - take the monstrously overpriced cable car up (6.50 pounds sterling or 11 euros - a rip off of an exchange rate, like everything else in Gibraltar) and then walk down.The cable car offered great views of the town and the water. At the top, there were breathtaking panoramas on all sides - Morocco and the Straight of Gibraltar, Spain, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. There were the famous Gibraltar monkeys at the top too. The ones on the tourist viewing platforms were quite aggressive and would jump on people and go into their bags (including mine - they know how to unzip and undo fastenings). I cannot even describe how beautiful the views are and how cute the monkeys are. It was an incredible experience.
Hiking down the rock also provided stunning vistas and plenty more time to hang out with the monkeys - evidently there are over 70 who live between the Monkey's Den (half way down) and the summit. Because it's spring, there were plenty of babies and little monkeys who were adorable, especially when they were eating oranges and nuts that they're fed by the staff members there to preserve them. The monkeys are so famous and important that they all have healthcare plans at the local hospital and were placed under protection in WWII by Churchill himself.
We actually got lost hiking down. It could have been easily avoided if we'd stayed to the paved paths, but somehow at a turn, we got onto a gravel path. It took us down to the bottom of the hill, but there, we were met by an ominous locked gate, so we had to climb back into the woods a ways before we reached the end of the fence where we could go around it. We ended up way further up the peninsula than the cable car, but we just walked back a ways and reached Main Street again. We felt quite accomplished when looking back up at the massive rock that we'd just hiked down and I'd recommend the same route to others. Overall, the daytrip was well worth it and one I'd recommend to people with extra time in Andalucía.
