The Rock

Earlier I wrote about the rock and monkeys in Gibraltar - that they are worth seeing at least once.

 

Most people have the beautiful image of Gibraltar - an extraordinary piece of rock in a far corner of Europe.

Perhaps even a postcard image.

However...

The real thing is not always like the image. It is quite dirty and busy place that is living from tourism. In some parts many house are in a pretty bad condition.

The flags on the house below represent quite well the overall image of Gibraltar. Unfortunately.

This is from the central square. Nothing to write home about...

All the people in the above - and many more - on the only shopping street made it uncomfortable to move around. But among these people I was not able to find the local guide below.

On the other hand, it seemed the people were not able to find the Gibraltar-branded bins...

Anyways, there are reasons why people go there. But I would not trust the Royal Mail in that corner of Europe; A postcard sent late July was delivered in Finland late August!

 The food in Gibraltar is ok - with quite a lot of English influences, surprise surprise - but prices are in minimum the level of touristic areas in Costa del Sol. And those are clearly more than if you dare to go in areas with more local people. 

And here I am talking only few blocks away from the beach and tourist attractions. Better food with less money.

So food is not a reason to go to Gibraltar for. You can get English b-fast all over the Spanish coast.

Everyone tries to make money but still I must wonder the greedy approach that is quite obvious in many places also in Gibraltar;
While the currency between local Pound and Euro is 1 : 1,1 you see often even 1.5 currency conversion for the prices. Last small example was at the tourist bus terminal where they will drop you off and collect from (that is if you are on organized trip); a 1.5 liter water bottle costs 2.5 Euros while the gas station in 30 meters (obviously not targeted for tourists) has a price of 1 Euro.

Funny, 2.5 vs 1 Euro also for a small can of beer in these two places... 2.5 Euros for a small can in a kiosk. In Finland that would be ok but in the "tax free paradise"...

This pic is from the "I won't rip you off" -place.

 In case  you are not interested in the monkeys - or none of the above - find yourself a better place to go to.

I would recommend for example to drive up the mountains to the town of Rhonda and look down from the bridge where one day people were thrown down as a punishment. It is high enough not to be punished again...

If you happen to stay in Marbella, there is a park with multiple places to set fire and fix your own bbq. I am not sure if it is public, but if it is, it would be a good option for a family or a bunch of guys on a golf trip - end of day fun fixing your meal together.

What ever you do, have fun doing it!