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isth·mus
noun \ˈis-məs\ : a narrow area of land
that connects two larger land areas
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On Friday morning we headed to La Linea de la Concepcion (or La Linea for short -- it means "boundary line"). La Linea is on the isthmus that connects Spain and Gibraltar. We parked, deposited our luggage in our hostel, and WALKED across the border into Gibraltar. One minute we were in Spain, then we walked across an airport runway, and the next minute we were in the British Territory of Gibraltar.
We strolled down Main Street, grabbed a bite to eat at an outdoor cafe, then headed straight for the cable car to take us to the Top of the Rock. The views from the cable car AND from the top were AMAZING!
The Mediterranean Sea side |
The Atlantic Ocean side |
The Moors, Spanish, and British all occupied Gibraltar at different points in history, and they all built fortifications and defenses including walls, bastions, case-mates, gun batteries, magazines, and tunnels. Remains/ruins of these were everywhere, and we enjoyed climbing on, in, over and under them.
The monkeys, or Barbary macaques, are one of main reasons Olivia wanted to go to Gibraltar. They are the only free-roaming primates in Europe, and legend says that when the monkeys leave Gibraltar, it will cease to be British!

The upper rock is a Nature Reserve, with beautiful wildflowers everywhere.
After exploring the upper rock, we began our trek to the other sights, having NO idea that we would have to walk MILES to see them. For the most part, the walking was on a very slight but steady decline, but by the end we felt like we had traversed the entire rock several times. It was a HARD day!


From the Great Siege Tunnels we walked a relatively short distance to the Moorish Castle, which was once a Medieval fortress on Gibraltar. I couldn't climb one more step, and our time was running out, but Olivia and Tim climbed to the top.
When we left the castle, we walked downhill until we found the "castle steps". We walked down, and down, and down, and down the steps until we FINALLY ended up back on Main Street where we had begun our day. Most cafes were closed, and we finally collapsed at a BURGER KING. Diet Coke for me!
But then we still had to walk all the way back to Spain!
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