Gettin' to Know Gibraltar

December 15^th, 2025 

I spent one night near the coastal town of Tarifa, before relocating to the border of Gibraltar, less than an hour away.  I picked the closest camp spot there was, which was within walking distance of this little British overseas territory.  It happened to be in a marina, so I felt like Octi and I were mixing with the hoity toities.

My first view of the "Rock".

Octi's home for the next few nights, at the marina on the Spanish side.

Arrrr...one of me neighbours.  There be four ta five pirates aboard matey.

A better view of the Rock from the edge of the marina.

The border is quick to pass through, especially on foot, although thanks to Brexit, I did receive stamps on my UK passport going both ways as I’m not considered a citizen of the Schengen Zone.  In close proximity to the border is the Gibraltar airport and there’s a road that crosses right across the runway!  I didn’t happen to see any cars driving on the road and there is a tunnel on the east side that passes under the runway so perhaps that’s the way they do it now.

Walking across the runway...kinda cool.

If you follow the ridgeline down to the right, you can see the square turret of the Moorish Castle, which happens to be closed for renovations at the moment.

Almost immediately I felt as though I’d stepped back into England.  Signs were similar to those in Britain.  There were zebra crossings for pedestrians and red, round royal mailboxes.  The main shopping street just had that English feel to it.

I certainly felt like I was back in England...but the Christmas knitted scene on top was something special.

It almost felt like being in a city centre in Britain.

Especially when you see a Playmobil statue outisde of a store...um, I mean "shop".

It's definitely a British bastion.

There's even a Marks & Spencer.

And of course some pubs, like the "Angry Friar" here.

I took a peek inside the pub...but didn't stop in.

Gibraltar has changed hands many times over the years between England and Spain, but it has been an English overseas colony for a long time.  The “Rock” of Gibraltar is an interesting geological feature with this massive, solitary limestone monolith jutting up to a height of 426 meters above sea level.  It is situated at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean so it is a spot of strategical value, and the Rock makes it a perfect place to stick some massive guns to act as the gatekeeper to this valuable shipping lane.

Gibraltar is known for having many big guns over the years due to its strategic position at the entrance/exit to the Mediterranean Sea.

A statue of Horatio Nelson, the hero from the Battle of Trafalgar.  His ship, the HMS Victory, was towed to Gibraltar after the battle for some repairs before it could head back to London.  Meanwhile they preserved Nelson's body in brandy until it could be buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

I walked around for over an hour or so, got a haircut and then ventured to a very English grocery store called Morrisons.  I stocked up on some of my favourite British food/treats, like Cathedral old cheddar cheese, Fruit Gums and Cadbury’s Buttons.  My backpack was a bit heavy for the couple of kilometres that I had to walk back to the van, but it was worth the bounty.

This is the Aviva, the only superyacht that was docked.  It is 98 meters long and believe it or not, has a tennis court inside of it!

The last rays of the sun.

Tomorrow, I plan on hiking up to the top of the Rock and traversing along it while checking out a number of tourist attractions/sights.