The Naughty Step

[pgn]

A Place To Send Transgressors, Temporarily. 

Use as you see fit 

(At the request of @Cleoriff and @Mi-Amigo ) 

[Cleoriff]

Oh I think we leave Gibraltar exactly where it is. Under British rule. With the apes making sure it stays ours.

[pgn]

Right ye be, Ma'am! (Tugs forelock) 🤣

[Cleoriff]

You're well travelled @pgn, have you ever been to Gibralatar? Not for the ridulously cheap duty free but the history of the place which is pretty mind blowing really...

[pgn]

No, never been. I worked for a company that was headquartered in Torremolinos many years ago, which is as close as I have been. This year, we plan to holiday in Caleta de Velez, flying into Malaga - so may get an aerial view of the Rock on our way in.

I notice many of the surnames of people from Gibraltar, mentioned on news reports for example, are familiar - as I was at school in Malta, many surnames are the same. Odd, that.

Perhaps we will get to visit, although this year is our first Costa del Sol holiday (we normally aim for Costa Blanca) and I think it would be a stretch this year. Maybe next year we'll aim for Fuengirola, just a hop, skip and a jump up the coast from Gibraltar.

[Cleoriff]

 Our apartment was in Benalmadena, which is 6 miles from Fuengirola and it is a long drive to Gib. We always took the car, far more conveneient than the coach trips which have a rigid timetable.

One word of advice, please do NOT attempt a trip during the summer season, unless they have developed some sort of app which will inform you of the length of the queue.

We did it twice with the kids during term holidays. We had a 4 hr wait the first time and a 3 hr one the second time

We went back, out of season and drove straight in. Spanish custom officers are renowned for holding tourists in a long queue. (All to do with with the fact they think Gib belongs to Spain)

Getting out can be just as bad, they do like to 'search your car for excessive duty free'...again, holding up the queue. Better to leave Gib about 7pm....

For all that, it's a great trip @pgn 

[Cleoriff]

Caleta De Velez is about 56 kms from Benalmadena. It's a lovely place

[pgn]

I had not considered the queues getting into, and out of, Gibraltar. I know you cross the main runway en-route, but having had to stop and wait for Concorde and 747s moving from the apron near Hatton Cross and crossing/being towed over the road onto the main concourse at Heathrow when I was younger, the joy of seeing several hundred tonnes of winged aluminium barely 20metres from your windscreen pales somewhat.

Hadn't realised Gib was still a good way from Fuengirola, so coming into Malaga airport may still not afford a view of the Rock. (I have flown over, and around, Mt Etna, in Sicily, many times, and Mt Teide in Tenerife is something to behold as the plane descends below the peak en-route to Tenerife South airport...!)

We have high hopes for Caleta de Velez, it looks beautiful - and the apartment we have found is 1st line close to the beach, with no cars/roadway between it and us.

Thanks, Den - great info! 😁

[Cleoriff]

@pgn 

There will be no view of Gibraltar flying into Malaga. Sorry about that. The runway is just inside the border so you will have already queued (or not...depending on the time of year)

Weird thing is, people who live in Gibraltar and work in Spain have to join the same queue. Vice versa, so do Spaniards who live in Spain and work in Gibraltar. Thankfully August tends to be holiday time for workers so it's not so bad for them.

Once in Gib a taxi tour is one of the best ways of seeing all the sights. The port is magnificent, so are the tunnels for the military. The caves with stalactites and stalagmites are a sight to behold. The Trafalgar cemetary is also worth a visit. I've never done the cable car, but many do

My husband is a lover of history and wished we had bought our apartment in Gibraltar!!

PS the currency is either the GBP or the Gib £1. Euros aren't the currency of choice.

Oh and I have seen many people forget their passports!!!!

[jonsie]

This was taken in the straits of Gibralter from a cruise ship :

This was the nearest I ever got to visiting there.

[pgn]

Striking photo, @jonsie!