82. Gibraltar

Gibraltar is part of one of the most industrialised coastal areas in Europe. No trees or green spaces here - just wall to wall ships, tankers, refineries, chimneys, wire fences, concrete barriers, aeroplanes, runways, road ways and traffic, traffic, traffic.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its northern border with the Province of Cádiz in Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is a densely populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.

An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services and shipping.

We queued in traffic for about an hour to enter Gibraltar.

Passing through this no man's land of palm trees and pleasure craft marina catering for cycle and foot traffic between Spain and Gibraltar.

Once through the passport check we are officially in Gibraltar but now queued at a red traffic light while a plane taxies, turns and then takes off across the road.  Green light - cars and foot traffic can crawl forward.

Crossing the runway.  I wasn't quick enough with my camera to get a photograph of the take-off because we were too many cars back from the barrier. But we certainly heard it.

Mr Intrepid  decided we'd try to drive up to the top of the rock rather than take the chair-lift.

We got about two thirds of the way up, but sections were beginning to close because it was early evening, and we could only go downwards from this point.  It is here where Queen Liz and (now Sir) Phil stood to gaze at the city on a visit in 1953. That was 62 years ago - can you believe it?

The city of Gibraltar below, all 6.7 km2 of it,  with Spain in the background.

Late afternoon sun looking south west across the Straight of Gibraltar.  You can see ships in dry dock in the foreground, a bay littered with large ships and Africa, probably Morocco on the horizon - far left.

Off the rock and through Spanish customs, we drove along the 'no man's land' route back to reality.  The rock had its own low, misty cloud in an otherwise cloudless 7.30 pm sky.

Next day we headed east along the coast of Andalusia towards Malaga.  Looking back, the rock had generated another cloud all its own. 

A potted history of Andalusia.  'Andalusia is an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the autonomous Spanish communities. 

Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines. The small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.

The name "Andalusia" is derived from the Arabic word Al-Andalus. As well as Muslim and Roman influences, the region's history and culture have been influenced by the earlier Iberians, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines, all of whom preceded the Muslims, as well as the Castilian and other Christian North Iberian nationalities who regained and repopulated the area in the latter phases of the Reconquista.

Andalusia has been a traditionally agricultural region, compared to the rest of Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the growth of the population has been above average in Spain and higher than many communities in the eurozone. The region has, however, a rich culture and a strong cultural identity. Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin. These include flamenco, bullfighting, and certain Moorish-influenced architectural styles.

Andalusia's interior is the hottest area of Europe, with cities like Córdoba and Seville averaging above 36 °C in summer. Late evening temperatures can sometimes stay around 35 °C at midnight, with daytime highs of over 40 °C common. Seville also has the highest average annual temperature in mainland Spain.

Driving north from Malaga.

Approaching Granada,  already at an altitude of 650 metres with the high Sierra Nevada in the distance.