Thursday 12 December 2024- Seville to La Linea de la Conçepcion - Two Controversial Decisions
On the road again for the remaining 3 hrs of the trip to La Linea, our cheaper jumping off point for a couple of days in Gibraltar.
Controversial Decision #1 - we did not spend any time seeing anything in Seville
IKR! Given the places we have already visited, and the planned visits to Cordoba and Granada, we didn't really think the sights of Seville that looked radically different and we were pressed for time as Gibraltar was on Mr Seat 0A's "must do list". As I think it's likely we will be back in this region at some point in the future, I'd be very pleased to hear people's suggestions for Seville.
Controversial Decision #2 - we decided to stay in La Linea rather than Gibraltar proper. Yes it involved us in having to walk about 500m extra each day to get to the border, and yes, La Linea is a pretty grimy, seedy, unattractive sort of a town, but we figured we were literally only there to sleep. And it was so much cheaper - 2 nights with breakfast at Ohtel La Linea for EUR 240 in a "suite" - more on that later. Compared to the cheapest we could find on Gibraltar at GBP 450 for the stay.
A straightforward trip saw us arrive just after midday. Tried our luck on early check in, and yes, we were given access to our room.
The pluses of our room:
- huge suite with a bedroom, and separate lounge area
- totally spectacular views of the Rock of Gibraltar and the harbour/marina area from our balcony
- spectacular views over the Gibraltar airport where we were able to watch the daily coming and going of aircraft into the fairly tricky airport
The minuses of the room/hotel:
- pretty shabby - old, uncomfortable, stained furnishings and curtains
- rather uncomfortable bed
- a plethora of notices forbidding this, that or the other thing
- stingy breakfast
Anyway, we did a quick unpack and re-sort of the day pack as it was raining, and then we walked for less than 10 minutes to reach the international border. I was excited to get an "exit Spain" stamp in my passport, but very disappointed to receive nothing at all in Gibraltar - not an entry stamp or an exit stamp. As soon as we were over the border, it was like "little England", with red phone boxes, and the street names being very British - Winston Churchill Ave, Queen's Way and Prince Edward's Gate for example.
Walked a further 3 minutes to the bus stop and then caught the Route 5, using a pre-purchased Hopper ticket (GBP 6.00 ea), which proved to be a very good investment.
Gibraltar is very hilly and of course is dominated by the Rock, which is over 420m high. We wandered (sorry I keep stealing your word
@wandering_fred 
) some very narrow and hilly streets, really noticing the age of the buildings and the tokens of British heritage everywhere. But the cars are all left hand drive.
Next we caught the #2 bus, intending to visit Europa Point, but we went in the wrong direction and ended up in Market Square. No worries, just hopped on another bus going in the right direction. Shared the bus with 3 families with some of the most obnoxious children I have seen in a while. They were yelling at each other and the girls in particular were shrieking and squealing. They were snatching things from each other, dropping food on the floor of the bus (there were no eating signs everywhere) and running and tackling each other in the bus. It was feral, and their parents just ignored it and talked amongst themselves. Wild!
It was a winding road and exceptionally narrow in places. These drivers are very skilled. Saw the famous Europa Point lighthouse and the mosque at the foot of the Rock. Another reminder of the Islamic influence in this part of Europe.
Luckily the rainy weather had started to clear, and we were able to just make out the coast of Africa, which is about 20km directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Europa Point. You can see why Gibraltar is such a strategic point, especially in WWII. I tried to take a photo, but it was too hazy to be able to make it out.
Enjoyed a good coffee and some hot chips (which we had to defend from the seagulls, same the world over!) while we waited for the bus, which we took back to the main street. Hopped off and walked through the very English High Street (Marks and Sparks, anyone?) before hopping on yet another bus back to the border, which they call the Frontier. Crossed over, more stamps in the passport for Spain, and then walked through an extremely seedy stretch of bars and eateries where very customer was drinking and smoking - hard. Walked the main street of La Linea, which was similarly down at heel and grubby past a coffee shop where all the locals were having afternoon tea - coffee and cakes - at 1800! Hilarious. The only open restaurant was an Indian place called, you guessed it The Taj Mahal, where we got a very decent chicken dhansak and lamb rogan josh and naans.
Back to the hotel to unpack and rest my tired feet. Tomorrow, we will visit the Rock itself.
Todays steps 15,346
Weather: rainy and 11 degrees.
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. We decided to do the southern loop and so missed those places and Porto in Portugal, for example. Next time, likely a northern loop!
