Holy shit. What a day this was. Gibraltar has such an interesting ownership change that is quite difficult to explain. It's honestly been so weird to experience this beautiful place while Trump and hit shitheads have been bombing Iran. While we enjoy this beautiful place, gas prices rose from 1.30 to 1.80. We are so thankful to be far enough away to be "safe"
I've learned that Gibraltar is a very small country. It's cool that it's off grid in terms of taxes. I learned that its 3 primary income sources are Gambling, Finance and Tourism. That's a pretty sad income source I think.
We were soon on a weird border crossing that felt as unnecessary for us as those who worked there. Entering Gibraltar required us leave our Bus and walk through. There were essentially 2 stops. Stop 1 was a blind stamping of our passports. Stop 2 was a weak look at our passport image and pass through. I honestly think this checkpoint wont last for long.
When entering Gibraltar, the customs office exits facing the airport tarmac. I heard the tarmac can be crossed. I was really looking forward to crossing it. Sadly our bus was turned in the opposite direction. It turned out they had built a bridge under the tarmac. It did not stop some people from still crossing the tarmac when the plane traffic allowed it. There was quite bit of walk in traffic, lots of scooters and gas bikes as well. I believe 15,000 workers cross every day. It's a busy place. Our bus drove only for a few minutes before parking. Gibraltar is pretty small. After a short washroom break we walk upstairs to get onto 1 of 2 smaller tour buses. These buses were cool. Standard transmission Toyota's with great gearing for these crazy streets. We were welcomed by John our driver and tour guide. He was so calm while delivering memorized speeches, answering questions and maneuvering really really tight corners. After a few turns and tunnels were at the Europa Point Lighthouse lookout. The weather was really nice and clear. We could easily see Africa about 20 KM's aways. We had 15 minutes to grab some photos from this height. The next stop was quite a number of switch backs and steep climbs towards the mountains and monkeys nearby Michael’s Cave.
These monkeys here are not native and are fed twice a day. They are more calm than those in Monkey Forest in Ubud Indonesia so there was no need to warn of looking them in the eyes. Our tour included a wrist band with a QR code to scan us into the depths of Michael’s Cave.
This place was pretty cool. A great effort was put into the show of light and sounds. At times it's too dark to see and with the wet ground, and a little risky it was to walk around. Eventually you walk into a stage and up some theatre seating. I chose to sit and enjoy the space. So did another member of our trip who was having difficulty seeing. Little did I know we were soon watching a 10 minute light show on the walls and ceiling. So awesome. It is pretty impressive the amount of musical equipment staging and sound equipment simply left out to soon get wet with the ever dripping ceiling. After the light show ended, the lights came up enough for people to safely walk out.
The exit obviously directed us all through a gift shop and later Carl was waiting to guide us to the location of our tour bus. Back on the road we were twisting and turning through frighteningly thin streets. Those that dare to walk on thin sidewalks have to be cautious to not be hit by the mirrors of passing vehicles. I cannot imagine this place during peak season. 3000 people disembarking a single cruise ship, sometimes 2 arrive quickly making this place a zoo. We all thanked John after getting us back to the station safely and back on the bus we were.
Leaving Gibraltar has a different process. We had to leave nothing on the bus as it was to be looked over. An empty bus is quickly passed by the agent looking for stuff. We all exited the bus with everything in hand. Having our passport opened to the Gibraltar stamp was a good idea. It took me a few minutes to find my stamp. The ink was a little low. Customs simply rubber stamped us all. The next security checkpoint was baggage scan. 3 staff members were talking and letting us all walk through without any scans. I want that job.
What a cool place, Kinda weird WRT the law but cool nonetheless.
No comments:
Post a Comment