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Although the small peninsula of Gibraltar is at the other end of Europe from the United Kingdom, it's a small slice of Britain - politically and culturally - in a sea of Moors and Catholics (how's that for mixed metaphors?). Given to Britain in perpetuity at the Treat of Utrecht in 1713, it is a major tourist attraction as well as a significant military point.

Gibraltar was the last stop on our Spain trip. Driving in Gibraltar itself is an unforgettable experience. All the roads are very narrow, even by European standards, very windy, with cars parked all over. Any road heading towards or away from the center is at a steep grade, which adds to the fun (especially in a manual). The roads are laid out such that it is easy to get trapped in a one-way street going up the rock with no place to turn around until you're halfway to the top. That's exactly what happened to us. We had almost no idea where our hotel was, so we just headed into town. Kayla spotted a sign with directions to our hotel soon after that, so we followed the signs to the other side of the rock. Then, without warning, we faced a split in the road with no signs. We took the wrong one, and kept going up and up. Eventually we found a road going down, and found our hotel. The natives also enjoying honking.
We took a cable car up to see the monkeys. They were entertaining and something different. Since we had gotten off only halfway up the rock but wanted to see St Michael's caves, we made a short hike up. The caves were ok. Very commercialized, but they did give the history of the caves, which was very interesting.

After that, we walked around the city center. It wasn't anything too special - just neat to be able to look up and see the rock of Gibraltar at any time. When we returned, Justin went for a run along the road which runs along the water. He reached the end of the peninsula with the lighthouse, but couldn't see Africa because of the fog. He then continued on to the back of the rock, where it drops steeply from its top to the sea, like a cliff. The run was a great way to see things - cliffs, a waterfall, old forts. So that Erin could see them all as well, we hopped in the car and drove around before the sun went down.

Gibraltar was ok. It would have been better if we had more time and the sky was clear.

To return to our Spain trip, click here.