2006 - Gibraltar & Seville

To a place that is as far away from home as it is possible to get without actually leaving the planet.

Thursday 28 September 2006 - Wednesday 4 October 2006
View 2006 Travels to Europe & Asia on nzhamsta's travel map.

We flew from London Gatwick to Gibraltar on British Airways. The flights were okay although onboard catering left a lot to be desired.

The first few days were spent with my sister who worked there but lived across the border in Spain. This is the view from her apartment in La Linea de la Concepcion.

The side of the Rock facing Spain.

We caught the bus to the very southern tip of Gibraltar. From there you could see Morocco easily and all the shipping transiting the Straits.

A tanker coming into the Bay of Gibraltar.

The Bay of Gibraltar with Algeciras in the background.

The mosque at the very southern tip of Gibraltar.

The Shrine of our Lady of Europe.

We took a trip up the cable car to the top of the mountain. It is very scenic with views across to Africa and Spain.

The view from the top cable car station back towards La Linea and Spain.

HMS Ocean,tied up at the Royal Navy dockyard.

Mother and baby Barbary apes.

A Barbary ape.

More Barbary apes scrounging food from tourists.

A couple of cruise ships tied up at the docks.

The Straits of Gibraltar, with Morocco at top left and Spain at top right.

This is Catalan Bay (or La Caleta) and is on the Mediterranean side of the peninsula. The water was cold. That night we had dinner with the Gibraltar Cat Protection Society, held at the Garrison Library. My sister had been invited so we tagged along. It was a barbecue with lots of food and drinks and some interesting people to talk to.

Catalan Bay.

The main road to Spain runs directly over the airport runway, which makes for interesting viewing when planes arrive and depart.

We then decided to go to Seville for a couple of days. This is a four hour bus ride away across the mountains around Tarifa and then across the plains past Jerez. It is a beautiful city with good food.

One of the many caleshes for hire around the city.

Another calesh with tourists.

A museum if I remember correctly.

Another nice looking building in Seville.

Seville Cathedral is the third largest church in the world and was built on the site of the mosque damaged in the earthquake of 1356. Christopher Columbus is buried inside.

The cathedral.

More of the cathedral.

The Giralda at 105 metres, was the minaret of the former mosque.

A grand view of the Cathedral from the top of the Torre del Oro.

The Plaza de España was built in 1929 for the Spanish-American Exposition.

The Plaza de España.

The left hand tower of the Plaza.

More detail of the Plaza.

Ceiling detail at the Plaza de España.

Each Spanish province has a tiled alcove.

One of the fountains in the courtyard.

The Torre del Oro (The Tower of Gold) was built in the early 13th century. Previously a military watchtower, it is now a naval museum. There are quite good views off the top.

The Torre del Oro.