Since we had spent two days in the same spot near Caminito Del Rey, we were eager to keep moving as soon as possible. So right after returning from the Caminito Del Rey hike, we decided to continue toward our next destination, Gibraltar. I had never been to England, so I was fascinated by this curious British overseas territory. It would also add another country to my list of places visited. The area also seemed to be packed with a lot to see and experience in a very compact space.
Although the drive from Caminito Del Rey to Gibraltar takes just over 2 hours, we planned to stop somewhere along the way to sleep since the hiking day had used up most of our energy. The route runs close to the coast, so we kept our eyes open for nice beaches where we could spend the night. The problem in the area turned out to be the signs forbidding motorhome camping. We swung by a couple of beaches and one detour almost cut our trip short. It had rained heavily in the area over the past few days and the sand had turned really soft. Since a hill led down to the beach, we struggled to get back up. Luckily we had learned a lot from Finnish winters and finally made it up by reversing fast up the hill with traction control switched off. Jessika watched from outside at the same time so nothing or nobody would wander into our path while reversing. One of the beaches we visited had lots of motorhomes and caravans with camps in the yard that looked like permanent settlements. The area still felt a bit sketchy, so we eventually gave up and drove to one of the parking lots near the Gibraltar border.
The parking area had all the typical features of a campsite, was really tidy, and sat in the harbour right next to the border. The views from the parking spot were completely different from what we were used to, and it was wonderful to admire the city lights from the van's windows as evening fell. Asphalt as a surface was also a nice change, because at previous camping spots sand and dirt quickly built up inside the van. The van is our home on the road, so we put everything into keeping it clean inside.
Walking into Gibraltar – crossing the runway and a Full English
We had decided to walk across the border into Gibraltar, because due to its compact size the area has a lot of traffic and crossing by car could take a long time. We also figured getting around on foot would be convenient and give us some counterbalance to all the sitting in the van. So we decided to sleep on the Spanish side and leave the van in a guarded parking lot the next day.
The next morning we woke up early once again, excited about the day's adventures. Even though we're slow risers on weekdays, somehow on motorhome trips we always wake up early without an alarm. Even though the blackout curtains keep the van completely dark, those new adventures always pump fresh energy into us in the mornings. This morning we skipped breakfast because I wanted to try an authentic British breakfast after seeing it in countless TV series and films throughout my life.
We headed for the Gibraltar border, the crossing of which is already a unique experience in itself. After the border, the official route into town runs straight across the active runway of the airport. The runway is flanked by the impressive Rock of Gibraltar on one side and the sea on the other – the view was striking. After crossing the airport we were soon in central Gibraltar, where the atmosphere was charmingly different from Spain. Everything from street signs to telephone boxes reminded us that we had now arrived on United Kingdom soil. The walk into town took about 30 minutes and we quickly found a suitable place for breakfast.
On the Rock among the monkeys
After breakfast we headed up to the Rock of Gibraltar. The Rock has plenty of wartime sights, Europe's only wild monkeys, stunning views and caves. We were really excited about all of it. You could go up either by walking the winding road or by cable car. We decided to take the cable car up and slowly walk back down. The cable car left from near the centre and offered amazing views over the city and the sea. As soon as we reached the top we met a large troop of monkeys behaving like they owned the place. We had been warned about the monkeys in advance and things like carrying plastic bags or bringing food were forbidden. We only had one backpack with us and we behaved respectfully toward the animals, so we believed we'd be left alone despite the monkeys.
It was interesting to watch the monkeys – they played and spent time together like human children, sometimes teasing and picking on each other. Tiny baby monkeys could be seen leaping around the trees here and there. The monkeys were also very interested in people and came really close if you sat down anywhere. I also quickly noticed that the monkeys were especially interested in the backpack on my back, even though there was nothing of interest to them in it. We first walked to the top of the rock to the ruins of an old wartime bunker to admire the views.
The streets on the rock were narrow. As we walked back down past the upper cable car station we ran into a big crowd of tourists and monkeys. We gave the monkeys as wide a berth as the width of the road allowed, after noticing that they were prowling around the tourists' belongings looking a bit too interested. Some tourists also approached the monkeys eagerly, not realising they were wild animals. As we walked past the troop I suddenly felt a monkey jump onto my neck. At first I didn't react, because I thought it would soon move on. A few seconds later I noticed it had opened the zipper on my backpack and was pulling papers out of the pocket. At that point I realised I had to do something – the pocket contained our passports and the car keys. Our trip would become considerably harder if the monkey got hold of them. I'd read that monkeys easily bite when they feel threatened. I started spinning fast trying to get the monkey off my back, but it just held onto the backpack and my neck even tighter. All the tourists around us just watched the show, amused. A few seconds later Jessika started helping me by swinging her bag at the monkey. At that moment another monkey from the troop attacked Jessika and bit her on the hand. Luckily Jessika was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, so the teeth didn't sink properly through the skin. I hurriedly started taking the backpack off, at which point the monkey on my neck jumped to the ground. We immediately started running away from the troop. To our surprise we noticed several monkeys aggressively following us. The previously amused crowd of tourists was now full of frightened looks and shouts as people scrambled out of the monkeys' way. Clearly nobody had expected this reaction from the animals. Finally, after running back up to the ruins at the top and Jessika throwing the sunglasses case in her hand at the chasing monkeys, the monkeys gave up the chase. Up top, checking my things, we were relieved to find that the monkey had only grabbed receipts and bits of paper towel from the bag.
Bunkers, caves, and Finns
After observing the troop for a while we dared to continue down the same route, since there was no other way off this hill. We were very aware of the monkeys' locations for the rest of the way, and whenever the troop was on the road we stopped and waited until it moved on. In hindsight, having the backpack on my back probably triggered the monkey's reaction of leaping onto my neck, so I moved the backpack to my front for the rest of the rock adventure. We continued to another peak of the rock, where we explored a wartime bunker that had been left intact, complete with its guns. The bunker had interesting explanations of the history of the place and how things worked there.
After the bunker we decided to head down, stopping at several viewpoints – you could easily have spent two full days on the rock if you visited all its sights. On the way down we did stop to properly explore Saint Michael's Cave. The cave is a huge stalactite cavern that was used as a hospital during the World War. Today it serves as a tourist attraction and a venue for musical performances. The cave was definitely worth visiting and there was also a constantly running, interesting film projected onto its stalactite walls and ceiling.
After the cave hunger started gnawing, so we took the quickest route down and looked for a restaurant. To our surprise all the customers on the restaurant terrace happened to be Finnish. It was strange to bump into Finns, because during our trip we hadn't heard Finnish spoken anywhere else. We stayed chatting with one of the Finns – he said he was a tech entrepreneur living in Gibraltar. According to him, many people from elsewhere in Europe had moved to Gibraltar. The area has plenty of quality services, a pleasant climate and low taxation, which attracts people to move there. We enjoyed the idyllic buzz of the small city in the calm of the evening, until it was time to head back to the van. Along the walk there was a petrol station whose prices nicely showed the impact of low taxation too (diesel 1.375/l). Gibraltar was a really positive surprise full of interesting things, and a place we'll definitely return to when travelling in the area again.
