The Rock

Where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea- in between of the European and the African Continent there is: Great Britain. Sounds wrong? Well, but it is true, at least a little piece of the British territory lays exactly here, in the south of Spain: Gibraltar, also known as “the Rock”. When I visited Gibraltar on a South Spain trip, I wasn’t even aware that it isn’t part of Andalusia, to which it boarders. But as soon as we entered Gibraltar it felt like being in Great Britain, as everybody around you spoke English with the typical British accent and all the prices were written in pounds. The only thing that makes you notice you’re still on the Iberian Peninsula is that the cars drive on the right side of the road and that the climate is definitely a lot more pleasant than in Great Britain itself.

The main part of Gibraltar consists of “the Rock”, an over 400 meter high chalk rock called Peñón de Gibraltar, which is partly a nature reserve. You can walk up the rock or take a cable car. It is not only a nice destination to take a hike to the top of the mountain and enjoy the beautiful view on the bay of Gibraltar, but also home of a unique species: the Barbary Macaques, a group of wild monkeys. At the Upper Rock, especially at the so called Apes Den live more than 300 monkeys. They are the only wild monkeys in Europe, an endangered species and the reason for many tourists to visit Gibraltar every year. It is a great experience to see them in their natural environment from very close. You will see them jumping on cars, carrying around their baby monkeys, messing around and even fighting. But be aware: the monkeys are used to the tourists and not afraid of people. They can come really close to you and you better don’t have any food with you, or at least don’t carry it so they can see it because if you believe it or not, they will steal every eatable thing you have. Very important rules to stick with: don’t feed the monkeys as they get fat and sick and don’t touch them as they are after all wild animals and often bite (especially naive tourists! ).

Other than the monkeys another highlight of Gibraltar is that, on a clear day (so most of the time), you can get a view on the African Continent. All in the South of Gibraltar you will find the “Europa Point”, which you can reach from the city center by bus. At the lighthouse you are only a little more than 15 miles away from Africa and can spot some mountains of Morocco.

Attractive is also the shopping experience because of Gibraltar’s VAT free status. It is not even needed to exchange money because most shops and restaurants accept Euros as well. Other than that there is not that much exciting to see or do in Gibraltar, which means it can easily be visited in one day.

To sum it up I can say that Gibraltar is worth a visit if you are in the area, a “very british” experience just across the Spanish boarder, with the wild monkeys being the highlight of a great daytrip.