After breakfast with Denise at 7:00, she headed off to the airport and I went for my morning walk. After showering and packing, I got a taxi at 10:00 to the Barcelona Sants train station and took the 11:00 a.m. train to Madrid, covering the 400 miles in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. My ticket allowed me to use the Renfe Club at the airport in Madrid, where I had a free beer and snacks and then at 3:05, I caught the train to Algeciras. This covered about 400 miles, but takes 5 hours and 30 minutes, in part due making several stops and to climbing through mountains high enough to cause my ears to pop. I had paid for the ticket all the way to Algeciras but discovered that I could get off 15 minutes earlier at the next to the last stop in San Roque and be only a 15 minute taxi ride to my hotel in La Linea, rather than 30 minutes from the train station in Algeciras.
After checking into AC Hotel La Linea, I went for a walk before the sun set. I am only 30 minutes walking time from the border with Gibraltar and can see Morocco across the Straits of Gibraltar, as well as the Spanish port of Algeciras to the west.
After dinner, I went back out for a walk and saw the crescent moon over the waterfront.
Tuesday morning, I walked east and south, and passed the local beach that is on the bay, and the marina where hundreds of boats are docker.
I went past the Port of Entry into Gibraltar and continued east. I walked through the Reina Sofia Park and enjoyed some shade on a hot, sunny day.
Gibraltar is at the tip of the Iberian peninsula. On the east side of Gibraltar and La Linea de la Concepción, there is a beautiful wide beach that runs for several miles to the north.
After walking north for a couple of miles, I came to the ruins of Fuerte de Santa Bárbara. Here is what Wikipedia has about the fort, of which only ruins now remain:
This fort was just one part of a whole line of defence known as the Lines of Contravallation of Gibraltar. This fortification was constructed by the Spanish after Gibraltar was formerly ceded to the United Kingdom after being captured by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704. The agreement to cede the isthmus was part of the Treaty of Utrecht and Spain gave Britain Minorca, Gibraltar and the right to sell slaves to Spanish colonies. As a result, a defensive line (hence La Línea) was built at the north end of the isthmus joining the Rock of Gibraltar to Spain in order to keep the British from attacking or encroaching on Spain.
After walking and blogging, I spent time in the hotel pool, getting mentally prepared for visiting Morocco, walking in the cooler evening air and having dinner.
After checking into AC Hotel La Linea, I went for a walk before the sun set. I am only 30 minutes walking time from the border with Gibraltar and can see Morocco across the Straits of Gibraltar, as well as the Spanish port of Algeciras to the west.
After dinner, I went back out for a walk and saw the crescent moon over the waterfront.
Tuesday morning, I walked east and south, and passed the local beach that is on the bay, and the marina where hundreds of boats are docker.
I went past the Port of Entry into Gibraltar and continued east. I walked through the Reina Sofia Park and enjoyed some shade on a hot, sunny day.
Gibraltar is at the tip of the Iberian peninsula. On the east side of Gibraltar and La Linea de la Concepción, there is a beautiful wide beach that runs for several miles to the north.
After walking north for a couple of miles, I came to the ruins of Fuerte de Santa Bárbara. Here is what Wikipedia has about the fort, of which only ruins now remain:
This fort was just one part of a whole line of defence known as the Lines of Contravallation of Gibraltar. This fortification was constructed by the Spanish after Gibraltar was formerly ceded to the United Kingdom after being captured by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704. The agreement to cede the isthmus was part of the Treaty of Utrecht and Spain gave Britain Minorca, Gibraltar and the right to sell slaves to Spanish colonies. As a result, a defensive line (hence La Línea) was built at the north end of the isthmus joining the Rock of Gibraltar to Spain in order to keep the British from attacking or encroaching on Spain.
From the beach, I walked back, trying four cambios before I found one that had some Moroccan Dirhams to sell. I exchanged $60 US; initially he quoted me 500 MADs and said that sounded low, so he gave me 520 MADs (google said I should get about 555 MADs) - but since that was the only place that had MADs, I accepted the 520 for my Wednesday trip to Tetuan and Tangier in Morocco.
On the way back, I did find some colorful flora, but was dismayed that there was not more colorful and plentiful flora - in places, the city was pretty drab. My guess this is a combination of Spain's uneven recovery from the economic crisis (this is in the province of Andalusia, the poorest province in Spain), the trade and smuggling battles with Gibraltar (now exacerbated even more after the Brexit vote), and the hot, dry summer (much of Andalusia is turning into desert).
After walking and blogging, I spent time in the hotel pool, getting mentally prepared for visiting Morocco, walking in the cooler evening air and having dinner.
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