If you’re going to visit Andorra, why not try Gibraltar as well? Wanting to cross off another small place on our European trip, the four of us — Glen, Narelle, Ravinder and myself — added Gibraltar to the itinerary.

We returned the car to Barcelona airport, dropped the keys in the key drop because we had no one to hand them too, then caught a flight to Malagà. We were met by a driver in a very big van who drove us the hour and a half to the border between Spain and the UK.

A traffic jam at the border saw us jump out around the corner and walk across the land border with our luggage. It was much less terrifying or unsettling than the the other land borders we’ve walked across (Israel—Jordan and Thailand—Cambodia), taking mere minutes to achieve.

A taxi took us to The Rock Hotel, where photos of various famous heads adorn the lobby wall, such as Winston Churchill, Roger Moore, and Cyndi Lauper. We checked into our room then went for a bit of an explore through the Botanic Gardens and down the Main Street through the City Centre.

Despite it being a Saturday evening, pretty much everything was closed. We eventually found an Italian restaurant that looked alright, but while the decision around where we were going to eat was being made, my appetite was shrivelling as I read an email from Alamo, the car hire company.

Apparently, there was damage on the car that we hadn’t reported (failing to do so incurs a €450 fine) and was being passed onto the claims department, along with a €1500 charge to the credit card (which may or may not be the final total amount). The damage? A bent licence plate.

Now, I should have done due diligence and checked that the existing damage was all recorded, but I didn’t. The three of us even noted the bent licence plate, but didn’t check that it was already on the form. So now we were on the hook for about €2000.

All I could see was hassle ahead (and about $500 in excess) to get it sorted. Unsurprisingly, I was very much not in the mood for a cheery dinner at this point, but we ordered and chatted. About 15 minutes later, I checked my phone again, only to find another email from Juan from Alamo saying that he’d checked over old damage and, his mistake, the damage was old and I wouldn’t be charged.

LOL. Sorry. My bad. Ugh.

Anyway, my mood lifted instantly and I was finally able to enjoy the evening.

We wandered through Casemates Square and Ocean Village and up the hill to the hotel for bed.

The Rock

The next morning we set off for the cable car to take us to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar for a full day of exploring. Glen remarked that he probably wouldn’t stay up there very long as it didn’t sound like there’d be much to do. Little did he know!

We arrived at the top around 9:30am and saw our first monkeys. We were a little terrified of these apes with sharp teeth, but fortunately, we had no issues with them. We saw them eat, lie down in the middle of the footpath, or cradling baby monkeys. Cute!

Then we walked. And we walked. And we walked.

Most of us went over the Skywalk with its glass-bottomed path, then up to old ruined and abandoned buildings, taking photos of the rock at various angles and looking to the south to Africa, where the rains were falling, and thunder and lighting were putting on a real show. The continent was just so close!

We then attempted the Mediterranean Steps, which descended down one side of the rock, around the southern tip, and back up a bit to spit us out at the western side near the Pillars of Heracles and Jews’ Gate. Slated to take two hours, it took about an hour, with some people passing us coming the other way, including a guy who ran the whole thing and well and truly beat us around to the other side. Impressive!

From the gate, we walked up to St Michael’s Cave, going into this cave system bejewelled with light displays designed to really bring home the impression that you’re looking at an angel in the rock formation.

They only give you access to a small part of the system, which also included a 200-seat auditorium where concerts are held. I was a little worried about the vibrations and the impact that might have on the soundness of the structures, but so far only it was only water that was crashing to the floor.

We stopped for lunch at St Michael’s Cabin, enjoying very good chicken and mushroom pies. The monkeys stayed outside the doors, but a group of them were rapidly approaching Narelle as she stood outside eating an ice cream. People alerted her and she moved inside. Incident avoided.

More walking after lunch, down to the Suspension Bridge, which was fun, then the rain started with a fury. We thought we’d missed it, but alas no. This made the rest of the afternoon a little less fun, especially with our feet and legs and knees and backs becoming very sore and tired.

We continued to the northern part of the rock where the Great Siege Tunnel was, thankful for getting in out of the rain for a while, though the constant loop of military music echoing through the tunnels got a bit much.

From the tunnel, we skipped the last little exhibition, went into the Moorish Castle, and we were done. By the time we got down the rest of the way and to the hotel, I think it was about 5:30pm and we were very dead.

Who knew there was so much to explore in Gibraltar?

We opted for dinner at the restaurant, which was decent but a bit pricey, and looked out over the port, at Spain and Africa, enjoying our last night together as a group. The next morning Ravinder and Narelle set off for Morocco, while Glen and I caught a flight to London.

(Oh, and just before leaving, we walked across the airport runway because that’s a thing you do here.)