Passports came out and in we went. We cycled through passport control, met the British police, and here started a slightly surreal day.
After joining the cars and holding everyone up, we dutifully showed our passports. After having done so, we cycled into Gibraltar. A slightly weird start, as you have to cycle over the huge airport runway. So two photos sum it up. The first of us riding along...a family shot. The second, of a red bus crossing a runway in front of the rock of Gibraltar.
Onwards we went. A slow ploddy cycle began, as the roads are so tightly packed in, and as busy traffic is really quite threatening, safety came first. We headed for Casemates square. However, something was afoot. There was something happening. A very helpful police lady explained to us in great detail and length about it being the 75th anniversary of the battalion or something. Whatever the detail was, the were lots of army types, guns on wheels, trucks, veterans, flags and marching bands.
Initially we went to avoid this, so we walked down to the cable car station, which was quite some trek, Gibraltar being larger than you think. And with great ease, we paid, got on the cable car and we were off. The children loved it and delighted in the increasing speed and the increasing view. I loved it, lots of photos and a great experience. Clare on the other hand had a good grip of the rails and knuckles that got whiter in tune with the increasing altitude as it sped to the top. I don't think the lurching over the middle stanchings really helped either. So we all had fun!
From the top, there was an immediate flurry of activity as all the barbery monkeys come out to greet the new visiting people by trying to steal their food. Any plastic bags, and they went straight for them. We were all okay as we heeded the rules, some didn't and had a monkey on their back, which they couldn't get rid of. The views were quite something, another memory committed in the mind as the photos don't quite do it all justice. 
The cable car ride back down was fun again, all with an added sense of gravity as we raced back to the bottom. Once feet were firmly back off the swaying carriage, we mooched back down the main street which was called Main Street. Clever! However, progress was halted by an onslaught of the military finery of Gibraltar. The marching band preceded some khaki uniformed groups. A pleasure to see and videoed from start to finish by Jasper.
A quick bite to eat then we continued to peruse Gibralter at our leisure, but then we got a little stuck. Anything touristy to do, or anything of historical significance cost a fortune, trying to cycle anywhere was dangerous and risky, so we wanted to limit that as much as possible; both Clare and I had already shouted at 2 cars and a bus with varying degrees of ferocity. In the end, we went to watch boats down in the bustling harbour, and then finish our Gibraltar experience in Morrisons. 6 tins of Heinz baked beans was a real bonus to us along with a couple of other essentials, including ground coriander for currys!!!
To conclude then. Gibraltar, all the British idiosyncrasies, all the British street furniture, red postboxes, road signs and lane markings, use of the £, streets full of shops selling cheap alcohol and cigarettes, lots of smokers, greasy spoon cafés etc. Would we holiday there? Definatly not. Are we glad we went? Most definitely. It is absolutely a curious place, a mixed up identity, but something quite unlike we have seen in the last 70 days or so. To balance this out though, I am now sitting in a campsite in Marbella, Costa del Sol. Endless avenues of hotels, restaurants etc. It's a one night stop over for us, but some people stop here for weeks. In some ways, it's more British here than it was in Gibraltar!
Ed
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