Andalusia Trip Summary

Málaga

We had an awesome week in Spain.  This was my first time in Andalusia and found it to be brilliant.

We stayed in Málaga which was great.  There's so much to see and do here.  It's also makes a great home base for several day trips.


Plus it's on the Costa del Sol and it felt so good to be at the beach.





In Málaga, we saw people preparing for the Holy Week celebration.  The processions will start on Palm Sunday and continue until Easter Sunday just as they have here for more than 500 years.

Our first day trip was to Tangier which was my first time in Africa.  It was a long day and gave us a quick feel for the city.  There are still places I want to visit in Morocco but I don't have a burning desire to go back to Tangier.  But I did ride a camel.
Our next day trip was to Granada and a visit to La Alhambra.  Granada seemed like such a great place that we really want to stay here next time.  Perhaps combining it with visits to Córdoba and Sevilla.



We really enjoyed our tour to Gibraltar.  Not sure I would want to stay here a week but perhaps for a long weekend.

No visit here is complete without seeing the macaques.  I made sure to pick up a toy monkey souvenir for Tünde.  It makes loud monkey noises so I'm sure she'll love it; Claudia probably not so much but my job as godfather is to spoil her.

In Málaga

I grew up in California and part of my family is Mexican so I grew up with people speaking Latin American Spanish, or our version of it called Spanglish.  Normally my biggest challenge is Latin American Spanish vs. European Spanish.

Breakfast hot chocolate and churros

This week I found my Czech messing up my Spanish.  In Czech, jo means "yes" or "yeah" which sounds just like yo which in Spanish means "I".  So I found myself wanting to say "yes, yes" and felt bloody stupid saying "I, I".  Very much like my Czech messing with my Greek in Crete and Cyprus.  I guess on the bright side Czech is becoming more and more second nature.

The food this week was a definite highlight.  Everything was so fresh, especially the seafood.

Seafood paella

Dinner in Spain is served late as most restaurants don't even open until 8 PM, and that's kind of early. Things start to get busy around 10 PM.



One thing I had never tried before were boquerones, fried anchovies.  They were surprising good.

So a fabulous week in Spain, plus Morocco and Gibraltar.  Even a quick stop in Zürich.  The 23℃ (73℉) weather was a welcome break from the cold in Brno and I'm looking forward to my next trip to Spain.

Tour to Gibraltar

Yesterday we took a tour to Gibraltar which is about 137 km (85 miles) from Málaga.
Overall it's pretty tiny as it only covers 6,7 km² (2,6 sq miles) and 40% of the land area has been declared a nature reserve since 1993.


Gibraltar has a 1,2 km (0,75 mile) land border with Spain.  As it's part of the UK, which isn't in Schengen, you have to go through passport control to enter when coming from Andalusia.  We knew we were in the UK because as soon as we arrived it started to rain.  Fortunately it didn't last. 

The Rock of Gibraltar is 426 metres (1,398 feet) high and is made out of Jurassic limestone.  The rock has lots of tunnelled roads but most are closed to the public as they are used by the military.



Europa Point is Gibraltar's southernmost point and on a clear day you can can see Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.  The lighthouse began operating in 1841.

The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque was a gift from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.  It cost around £5 million and opened in 1997.

The Great Siege Tunnels were dug out by the British at the end of the 18th century during the Great Siege of Gibraltar.  They were used during WWII and tours are available.

St. Michael's Cave is a network of over 150 limestone caves about 300 metres (980 feet) above sea level.  Cathedral Cave is the largest chamber and was converted to an auditorium.



The cable car was built in 1966.  It takes people from the base to midway up the rock, the the Ape's Den, in about six minutes.




The most famous residents on the rock are the 300 Barbary macaques.  They aren't scared of people and will get in to a bit of mischief if you aren't careful.



Main Street is the main business and shopping district.  It's only 1 km (0,6 mile) so it's quite an easy stroll.



The Convent was once a convent of Franciscan friars built in 1531.  Since 1728 it has been the official residence of the Governor of Gibraltar.




The Royal Gibraltar Regiment overseas defence.  The unit was formed in 1958.




Built in 1817, and previously used as a library, the building was reopened in 1969 as the House of Assembly.  In 2006 the House of Assembly was renamed parliament.




Here's Gibraltar's city hall.  The building was originally a private mansion built in 1819.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary the Crowned was consecrated in 1462.  It is Gibraltar's oldest Roman Catholic church.

King's Chapel was built in the 1530s and given to the Church of England in 1704.

The Great Synagogue was founded in 1724.  It was the first synagogue on the Iberian Peninsula since Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal back in 1492 and 1497 respectively.

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was founded in 1838.  It belongs to the Church of England.

The Naval Monument was built by the Americans in 1937 as a WWI memorial commemorating the UK and USA's joint efforts during the war.  In 1998, a bronze plaque was added to commemorate the Allied invasion of North Africa in WWII.

King's Bastion used to defend Gibraltar during the Great Siege.  In 2008, it was repurposed as a leisure centre with cinemas, ice skating, bowling, and a fitness centre.

Gibraltar was a great day trip and highly recommended.  Although we did have a bit of a downpour when we first arrived, followed by heavy hail, it did clear up and turn out to be a beautiful day.  That fickle UK weather I guess.

Andalusia, Spain

Andalusia, in Spanish Andalucía, is one of 17 autonomous communities located in southern Spain.  There are eight provinces and the capital is Sevilla.  It borders Portugal and shares about a ¾ mile border with Gibraltar.  Morocco is only a 35 minute ferry ride away.  Andalucía is the only part of Europe that sits both on the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Andalucía is home to about 8,4 million people which is over 17% of Spain's population.  The area bigger than Maine or a little smaller than Indiana.  



The area has been home to the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines, Jews, the Muslim Moors and Spanish Christians.

It is one of the sunniest and warmest parts of Europe which makes it popular with tourists.  In Spain, only Catalonia gets more tourists.  Some of the most popular places to visit are Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Granada, and Ronda.

Here's an hour long Rick Steves video I found out on YouTube about Andalucía (and Gibraltar).

©Rick Steves

Gibraltar

Gibraltar, also known as the Rock, is a British Overseas Territory on the Iberian Peninsula.  While it is physically connected to Spain, it is a part of the United Kingdom.  Gibraltarians (Gibs) hold UK passports.

Gibraltar is small.  It is only 6,7 km² (2.6 sq mi) which is more than 10 times the size of The National Mall in Washington, D.C.  However, it is densely populated as it is home to 30,000 people.

Phoenicians inhabited the area around 950 BC.  Over time it has been held by the Carthaginians, Romans, and Vandals.

In 1704, Gibraltar was captured from the Spanish during the War of the Spanish Succession.  In 1713, the territory was given to the UK in perpetuity.  Spanish monarchs have unsuccessfully attempted to regain the territory.

Strategically it is quite important because it's only 13 km (8 miles) to Africa, which means from Gibraltar the British Navy can control entry and exit to the Mediterranean Sea.  Today, almost half the world's seaborne trade passes through the strait.

Gibraltar has its own money, sort of.  It issues Pound Sterling coins and banknotes, like Scotland and Northern Ireland do.  It's easiest to just use £ Sterling as it may not be accepted back in the UK.

English is the official language but most people speak Spanish.  Many people also speak Llanito which is a mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, plus bits of Maltese, Portuguese, Genoese Italian and others.  When people speak it they flip back and forth mid-sentence.  This is where the term "gibberish" comes from.  Here are a few examples but where I grew up in California we call this Spanglish.

Gibraltar is the only British Overseas Territory that is part of the EU which is a problem now.  Gibraltar voted overwhelming to stay in the EU so Spain may use Brexit as a way to get back control.  Although time and again, the people remain fiercely loyal to the UK.

Here's a video I found on YouTube that helps share some more insight.

©SeekerDaily

Later this month I'll be in Málaga for a week's holiday and we've already booked a day trip to Gibraltar.  Here's a Rick Steven video I found that highlights more of the touristy stuff.

©Rick Steves

Update 2025:  Here's a short video about why the UK has Gibraltar.

©History Matters

Brexit Results

Wow!  This whole Brexit thing has me absolutely gobsmacked.  I can't believe how the vote went.

The final results were 52% for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union vs 48% to remain.  Again, absolutely gobsmacked.


I've heard arguments that a post-Brexit UK could leave the EU and still retain benefits like the four countries in the European Economic Area.  To me, this just sounds dumb because the UK would then still have all of the obligations it currently does but it would lose its vote.  Staying the same without having a say doesn't seem too bright to me.  Just saying...

The overall vote was close but it wasn't close across the entire UK.  The majority of England and Wales (except for their capitals of London and Cardiff) voted to leave.  The majority of Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain.  Could this lead to another independence referendum in Scotland?  Does this mean that the Common Travel Area will be impacted and border checks will have to be reintroduced between Ireland and Northern Ireland?  Could there be a referendum for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join the Republic?  

Residents of the British Territory of Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU.  Brexit could have serious political and economic consequences and who knows, perhaps Spain will try to leverage this for control of the Rock.

While older voters wanted to leave, the majority of younger voters all wanted to remain.  This whole referendum thing was basically supposed to be an opinion poll but it hasn't been marketed that way to UK voters.  It will be interesting to see what happens next but it looks like the United Kingdom is less united than ever.

We have elections coming up in November in the USA.  Let's hope that these are the only crazy election results this year.

Update:  Here's another interesting CGP Grey video I found out on YouTube.  It gives a nice, quick overview of last month's Brexit vote.

©CGP Grey

Update:  The UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video about how the UK originally joined the EU to begin with.

©History Matters