Blogs from Algeciras, Andalusia, Spain, Europe

Today we are leaving the ‘Sherry Flat’. I am dreading the drive out. Ian has extracted the car from its spot in the underground garage. Fortunately no one ever took up the space beside him as I did wonder how he would ever open the door to get in - the spaces are very tight! a several point turn has the car rotated the required 180 degrees to access the ramp and he is up and away. Now I just have to run back up to the flat, dump the keys and run back down before he gets a parking fine for loitering outside! Now in the car and we are off, crawling up the first narrow road following a man who is walking his dog, as there is no way we can pass without flattening ... read more

Sunday morning and my alarm goes off good and early. I get up and ready pretty quick. My day bag is packed, I check my directions one more time, wake John and say good bye and then I’m off. I start with a breakfast at what has become my favorite little spot (ham sandwich with the tomato/olive oil spread, espresso and fresh squeezed oj). Then to the car park I go. Today is one of the biggest tests of my international travel experiences…driving alone in a foreign country. I can do this. I’m an intelligent person. I will be able to read road signs (that are most non-existent) by myself and in Spanish. Um…well, sort of! Let’s put it this way, I made it out of the car park and through the first three giant round ... read more

We set off today from Merida for a 4/5 hour journey of some 250 miles. We had breakfast etc along the way at several service stations. 2 x café con leche and dos donuts pour favour Senor. Temperature has risen today to around 22 degrees. Overnight, we decided that we would arrive too early at Cadiz for tomorrow’s voyage so we decided to come to sunny Gibraltar instead tonight. Passport checked to enter. Petrol at £1.00 a litre. We unfortunately arrived ten minutes too late to visit the Barbary apes high up via cable car on Gibraltar’s rock. We are overnight at the plush 4 star Caleta hotel. We have a lovely view from the balcony out over the blue ocean. High tea / supper at a local bar and a delightful local bus ride. Gibraltar ... read more

Living on the Costa – Part 3 Thursday 14th January 2011 Gibraltar - A day trip back to blighty ! - well almost … Using the hire car we took the opportunity to drive down the coast to Gib or ‘The Rock’ It was rather strange having to wait at the frontier for Easy Jet and Monarch to land a couple of jets before we could cross the runway into the territory. We enjoyed Fish & Chips in the main square and took a walk along the main street where we paused at the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society branch ( where else ? ). Of interest was the connection with Nelson, those who know me well will know why. HMS Victory was towed here in 1805 after Nelson’s victory at the battle of Trafalgar with ... read more

Gibraltar About an hour an a half down the coast from Malaga is Gibraltar. There are two main routes- one winds through some towns and takes a little longer; the other is a toll road (about7-8 Euros each way). One thing we have noticed while driving in Spain is that the signage on the roads is sometimes weak, at best. Gibraltar is a good example of this. One would expect that once in the general vicinity, the rock would be quite easy to locate (you can’t miss it). Not true from the highway….even less true once you take the correct exit. And don’t even ask about once you have crossed through customs from Spain into Gibraltar….Again, you would think it would be fairly obvious which way to go. Long story short, after many winding roads, turn- ... read more