The Rock of Gibraltar, its pleasant weather and the many macaques dotting the picturesque landscape made Upasna Prasad’s day-long trip memorable.

In the summer of 2017, while holidaying in Seville, Spain, my family of three decided to venture out on a full-day trip to Gibraltar. It was an impromptu plan. We hired a tourist minibus that took five hours to reach the southernmost tip of Spain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

For those unfamiliar, Gibraltar is a British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. It has been under the sovereignty of the British kingdom since 1704 but has since then been claimed by Spain. Geographically, it is located in the ‘Strait of Gibraltar’ with the narrowest point between Europe and Africa.

The Schengen visa law is not applicable to enter this small city of 34,000 people living on a 6.5 km square area. We had to take a UK visa to grant us entry into the city.
Upon arrival, our bus stopped half a kilometre away from the Rock of Gibraltar, and we had to walk towards the Rock and enter the city. It is undoubtedly the most distinguished landmark, and we entered the Rock to see the stalactites and stalagmites.

We were welcomed by an old European tourist guide, who had served in the army previously. And like the Rock, he was a strong and sturdy older man who showed around the place and doubled up as our chauffeur, driving the huge Volvo bus that carried other tourists and us for a fun roller coaster ride around the city. Gibraltar is hilly with steep, sharp slopes. There were some dangerous, meandering curves around the city, and every time our bus took a sharp turn, my heart sank into my boots.

Luckily the sky was clear, so we could easily see African Morocco overlooking the sea on the other side of the Rock. Tourism is the primary industry here, and a year-round warm climate is an added charm for the tourists who flock in hordes. I lost count of several caves and tunnels that we traversed during our trip to the city.

After a brief tour of the lighthouse of Gibraltar at the Europa point and the rocks of Gibraltar with its world-famous Gibraltar macaques, we decided to halt for sumptuous lunch at the city centre.
An interesting feature was the runway of the Gibraltar airport near the Rock. Ahead of the runway lay a typical street. We waited at the barrier for the incoming and outgoing aircraft. It was unique and exciting to look at this feature.

I must admit that we were scared of the Gibraltar macaques (monkeys); they were omnipresent. A barrel dotted the entrance of the Rock, and we somehow made our way inside.
Gibraltar is full of them, and it is illegal to drive them away. The guide told us that every Gibraltar macaque had a unique code in Gibraltar and the city authorities knew the exact count of macaques present in the city.
After spending around five hours in this beautiful city, we made our way back to Seville, Spain, with wonderful memories of the Rock, its pleasant weather and meeting and greeting the many macaques dotting the picturesque landscape.