Sunday 27th April - Gibraltar

The drive down from Granada towards Gibraltar was another opportunity to experience the superb road system in Spain and to marvel at the extraordinary development that is occurring in its southern provinces. It is almost impossible to travel more than five or ten kilometres without encountering a cluster of hammer head cranes all assisting in the creation of new or the expansion of existing residential and commercial property.

This particular area is the destination for large volume of European tourists and could be described as being like the low rise sections of Australia’s Gold Coast but on a massive scale. The coastal developments are literally hundreds of kilometres in length and under active expansion.

Again the master travel agent Merie had managed to find us accommodation for less than A$100 a night in what seems like a five star traditional hotel. A quick check-in into the Hotel Reina Cristina preceded our visit to the fabled rock.


Now this is confused and slightly miserable looking regal monument. There is no getting away from the majesty of the rock itself or from its command of the entry straits to the Mediterranean – I found that brought some chills to my spine.







On the other hand the place looks dilapidated and unkempt. It is crying out “you could not do without me in the war …. But now you don’t care!” . The poor old place knows it is British but believes itself to be Spanish and is inclined to think it would like to be North African – there has been trivial efforts to maintain the place for its historical and strategic importance – rather it seems to be the subject to the erratic spread of ramshackle holiday accommodation. Alas my boyhood visions of Gibraltar have been dashed for ever.

Lest the reader might think I did not enjoy the day … nothing could be further from the truth … another great experience … I must really learn more history.