Gibraltar
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2007
1
117
151
Trip End
Sep 20, 2008
Where I stayed
Continental Hotel - Gibraltar
Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Got the bus to "La Linea" Bus station which is just around the corner from the rock. I crossed the border and asked a guy at an information desk where the Youth hostel was. He gave me a map with the hostel clearly marked on it. From the border you have to walk across the airport runway to get into the city. This is a bit weird because you have to look left, right and up as you cross in case a plane lands on your head. I made it across and continued into the town. I got lost once and had to get directions to the hostel from one of the locals. When I arrive at the hostel there was nobody there. I looked around and found a note in the window that said "Open 4:30 pm". It was around 2:00 pm. it was starting to rain. I didn't want to walk around th city with my backpack for over two hours so I sat down and read my book. About an hour later a guy arrives and tells me the hostel was full. I asked him to recommend some where else. He said go down to the Continental Hotel. So I walked down to the main street and found the Hotel. The cheapest room they had was 80 Euros. I was caught in the Gibraltar trap. I am sure the Youth hostel is just a lure to get people on the Rock. The hotels probably pay them to put the "FULL" sign up. Anyway, reluctantly I paid the money and got a room with a leaky toilet, a cold shower and a TV which was incredably hard to change channels on. I have seen better hostels for a quarter of the price. The only upside was that 99 per cent of the channels where English.
It costs 13 euros to get the Cable car to the top of the rock. Up there apart from the view there is not much to see. I followed the signs to the "Siege Tunnels" which said 1.4 km that a way. I walks the 1.4 km down a steep zig zag road only to find another sign telling me that they were another 2.4 km further. At this point I was pretty buggered and my feet were hurting in my new boots. I gave up and caught the cable car down to the bottom from the middle cable car station. While standing in the queue for the cable car one of the younger apes came up behind me and pinched me on my arm. Scared the life out of me, I didn't know what it was. It turns out the family in front of me were also a bit frazzled by the apes. The apes are beyond tame. If they see you with a bag or taking anything out of you pocket they jump on you. The Family had picked up stones for protection. Below us we could see some apes jumping on cars and going for rides down the hill. Dangerous little buggers.
I spent the rest of my time walking around the city. It is not as English as I expected. A part from the red post and telephone boxes it could be any part of Spain. Most of the shop keepers are not English looking and most of the locals speak Spanish to each other. They Speak English only if you speak English to them. I think Gibraltar's days are numbered as an English Colony.
