Top Of The Rock

Hola,

In our last blog we said we were planning a trip to Gibraltar as Julie has never been and I went years ago with my family when I was about 10 I think.  From the campsite here in Tarifa it’s roughly 25 miles away so we decided to take the bike as we had spoken to a few English people here who said that it was a bit of a nightmare paperwork & passport wise getting in/out with a car let alone a motorhome so thought it would be much easier on the bike so we got our gear on & set off.  We had also been told, and Julie had read in one of our many books that the coast road out of Tarifa towards Algeciras was very scenic with views across the straits of Gibraltar, Morocco & the med.  Well we weren’t disappointed as the coast road was just totally amazing.   As you head out of Tarifa across the hills and through the mass of wind turbines (thankfully it wasn’t windy as we had also been told that driving when it’s windy up there which to be honest is most of the time can be a bit hair raising!!) is just stunning.  On route there was a little cafeteria with breathtaking views so we just had to stop and take a photo, the mist was funnelled between Africa & Europe hanging over the mountains of Morocco as you can see from the picture.

We arrived in Gibraltar and went straight through Customs which was just a quick glance at our Passports by the Spanish Border Controls and a British Policeman, the first time our Passports have been needed since we left the UK back in January.  Julie said it didn’t really seem or look British as you still drive on the right like in Spain, the only obvious familiar difference was the road signs/markings and the volume of traffic, surprise, surprise!!!  We did a quick lap of the whole of the rock which I believe you never used to be able to do which involved going through a fair number of tunnels which still looked under construction by the state of them!!!  We headed back to the centre and found somewhere to park the bike up amongst the hundreds of other bikes & scooters and headed for the main square to grab a map.  We saw a machine that sold maps so as we had some English money we put a £1 coin in and hey presto nothing come out, we had been here only 20 minutes and been ripped off immediately which did made us both laugh!!! but we went into the tourist office and told the lady and she scuttled off and came back with the biggest map you have ever seen!!! so after unfolding the huge map of the rock we set off up the main street towards the cable car to The Top of the Rock.  As we strolled up the High Street we came across M&S and went in and just dribbled round the food section at the selection and also the prices !!!!! but Julie resisted the Percy Pig sweets so it was upward and onward towards the cable car past the many tax free shops selling cameras, alcohol, & perfume etc etc. Once at the lift Julie found the best option on the price menu to get us to the top without all the entrance to this, entrance to that etc etc so we got in the cable car and off we went to the top.  We would of loved to walk up but it was just too hot and I also had a back pack on with our bike gear in plus camera, water, sun cream, sun glasses and not forgetting flip flops which as usual Julie had loaded me up with, all that was missing was the kitchen sink out of the van LOL. Once at the top the views of Spain and the surrounding landscape was fantastic with the cruise ships in Gibraltar harbour and the many tankers/cargo ships waiting to unload in the port.  When you are there you can’t fail to see the barbary apes they are everywhere sitting on railings, walking down the steps/roads, in the visitors centre etc etc.  While looking out over some railings a young family below with a pushchair were looking out to sea and with that while their backs were turned a large ape came casually down the stairs and headed for the cargo net under their pram and swiftly stole a large family pack of crisp and casually walked off opening them as you or I would then sat on the wall in full view and scoffed the lot much to everybody’s amusement and the families shock, they even know how to unzip back packs to remove food while you aren’t looking, they are constantly on the look out for a free meal .  They can be vicious as I found out by getting a bit too close for a photo, one grabbed my arm as if to say back off.  On one elderly lady we saw one had actually drawn blood on her arm doing the same thing which did look quite nasty, we even saw one with some TUC biscuits & some McDonalds fries it had stolen!!!  We did the walk around the top of the rock and then decided to walk back down into the main square for some lunch/beer.  On the walk down Julie spotted what looked like a Pinbin Skip which reminded her of work but only for a split second.... it was even the right colours!!!

After lunch we decided to head back to camp but via Morrisons Superstore on the way out as Julie wanted to get a few luxury items, OMG it was just like being in our local store at home, we just looked at each other and said let’s get out of here as it was a real reality check, thankfully when we got back outside we weren’t in Northfleet!!  The few luxury items cost more than our monthly shop here in Spain!!

 On leaving we just couldn’t believe the traffic & hustle bustle of everyday life so couldn’t wait to leave so after the all clear from the English Policeman to cross the runway which you have to cross to enter or leave Gib we hot footed it towards the border via the motorcycle/scooter lane which bypasses all the queues which was great.  We then took one last photo of the rock and headed back to camp back along the beautiful coast road and stopped to take another photo by which time the mist had cleared, what a beautiful view.

After just a few days of no wind the wind here has returned but with a vengeance although it’s “Levante” from the East so off-shore but my god it has been “wind stops play” as it has been soooo windy we haven’t be able to kite, paddle board or cycle and even had to de-rig the van to drive to Lidl’s to get our shopping as it was too much to be out on the motorbike.  Walking was about the only thing we could do but even that became impossible as on the beach it was blowing 40+ knots and it was painful as we were just being sand blasted!! We decided to de-rig the van and drive up to Bolonia to escape the wind and pay a visit to the Baelo Claudia Roman ruins which are situated right on the beach which are quite amazing and a must see.  They emerged in the 2nd Century BC in an area of great strategic importance, The Straits of Gibraltar. It’s origin and subsequent development are closely associated with the tuna fishing & salting industries and trade with the North of Africa, as it was the main port for the present-day Tangier…..get me, oh I just copied that from the leaflet!!!  The only good thing about the wind is that you don’t feel the heat as at Bolonia it was over 30 degrees although it was still quite breezy.

There are many migrating birds from Africa that fly over the campsite that we have discovered are actually vultures and there’s even a Stork with a huge nest just over the road from the campsite which has set up home on top of a pylon, it’s nest is that big that the sparrows nest underneath.  When we have been driving through Portugal & Spain we have seen loads on top of the Pylons.

Whilst out getting sand blasted along the beach the other evening we spotted some kiters in the lagoon that were throwing some pretty sick tricks so we walked along and spotted a VW van with “Hadlow” sign writing on it and sure enough it was 5 times world champ Aaron Hadlow practising in our lagoon so we just sat and watched in amazement as he threw trick after trick with I take it what was his girlfriend taking some pics then the same again the next evening with a couple of other English lads doing some very impressive tricks and some even bigger crashes!!!!! 

The wind did relent for a few hours yesterday afternoon so we managed to get a last kite surf in which was great.   We left Tarifa this morning which was quite sad as we have really loved it here as it ticked all the boxes and we used all the toys from our toy box but we are continuing our adventure heading towards Barcelona to meet Julie’s Mum & Dad at the beginning of June which we are both really looking forward to.  Tarifa & it’s surroundings are certainly a place that we will re-visit sometime in the future

That’s all for now, adios amigos.

J&J

xx