Europe Trip Day 10 and 11

Time fly’s when your always on the move we find and that’s what you get when you don’t stay in one place all the time. So far we have clocked up 1,589 miles of pleasurable driving over 9 days, passing through some beautiful places to which we may never of seen.

Having a motorhome gives you such amazing freedom and we just love ever single mile of it.

Before we head to our destination today, we are taking a detour to Cadiz. We have passed Cadiz before but never dropped in, so today’s the day.

Cadiz is an ancient port city in the Andalucia region of southwestern Spain and somewhere we recommend you add to your trip if you are in the area.

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On the drive down we spoke about Cadiz but did not really think it would be that big and it was somewhere that’s not really come up in conversation on past trips. As normal Elaine did a little research on the drive down to ensure we had somewhere to park our motorhome safely. There isn’t a lot of choice for large motorhomes on Cadiz but Elaine found one, it was up the far end in the marina with plenty of spaces. This is a mixed carpark with cars also, the motorhomes are parked up the end.

Driving through Cadiz we realised this place was far bigger than we thought, there’s a new part with all the new modern shopping areas and at the other end is the old town. Our parking area was up the old end which is good for us, we parked up and went for a walk.

We walked around the coastline to start with, along a fantastic promenade and came to a lovely beach area. We then had a walk around all the side streets in the old town, sadly most of the shops were closed due to being a Sunday but its still great to just amble around. We had some lunch out before another walk around, you do need a good couple of days here however we plan to move on.

On leaving Cadiz late afternoon we head off to our final destination for the day as tonight we are parking up in La Linea Marina. La Linea lies on the border with Gibraltar and is the perfect stop for anyone wanting to visit the rock. On the marina there is space for 100 motorhomes with water and waste facilities at a cost of 12.50 euros per 24 hours, this is where we shall be setting up home for the next two nights.

The next morning, day day 11 if you have lost count; we wake up to this view. Not bad at all, this is also the same place and spot we parked two years ago.

This morning after breakfast we headed over to Gibraltar passports in hand, with the new changes of Brexit we now get our passports stamped at the crossing as we are leaving the European Union and technically back into the UK of a fashion. Most will know, but for those of you that may not, once though boarder control you then have to walk over the main runway to finally get in to Gibraltar. Don’t worry, if a plane is due they shut the runway.

Once in Gibraltar we head off up into the high street and straight away you feel like your back home. The phone boxes are back, the road signs are the same and our zebra crossings. It’s funny, you can be so far from home yet we seem to be home. One of the best things about Gibraltar is 300 days a year of sunshine, we certainly don’t get that at home.

The high street is full of shops including a lot of tobacco, alcohol and electrical shops. They all have far cheaper prices than in the UK. The main lower square is full of bars and restaurants with plenty of people around, you also revert back to the pound when spending.

The rock is full of history and there’s a lot to take in, so if its your first visit make sure you plan in at least 2 full days to get around.

One of the biggest attractions is the rock itself, we all know what it looks like I’m sure, it’s what’s at the top or who.

The monkeys are what makes it famous for tourists, us being two of them and by that I mean we are tourists (not monkeys) After lunch we headed to the cable car to the top of the Rock and once up here, the views are amazing. A few big rules up here because of the monkeys and they include a few to name the main one being do not feed the monkeys.

As silly as it sounds, they are very clever but at the same time can get a little angry and are known to bite. Don’t take plastic bags to the top, they relate plastic bags to carrying food so they will snatch it from you. Any rucksacks wear on your front, this can stop them from jumping on your back to get in your bag.

The older monkeys watch everyone very carefully, they are so smart. When they see an opportunity they will go for a bag to look for food.

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2 years ago we came and I had my bag on my back, Elaine thought it was a good idea to go and open my bag while still on my back to get something out, however before my bag was open the largest monkey on the rock jumped on my back and stole a large pack of crisps. I can’t write the words I used as this is a family site, however Elaine seems to think it was little funny and more upset she didn’t get a video of it.

Hence today my bag was on my front and I gave strick instructions to Elaine to keep away from me and my bag, that was not going to happen this time.

After a good long day sight seeing, taking a lot of pictures we headed to Morrison’s supermarket to top up some British products. However we can’t buy any meat or dairy products as we can’t take them across the boarder, sadly.

Once back across into Spain we are just in time to watch a beautiful sunset from the motorhome , a perfect end to a lovely day. Coming all the way down to Gibraltar is one of our favorite stops and it never disappoints.

The following morning after a slow start, we are ready to move on. But not before one major job and that’s to drive over to Gibraltar to fill the tank with diesel, why? Well it’s 98p a litre that’s why, who wouldn’t and I did ensure our tank was low. This took a little longer than normal as with traffic and getting though border control and a little joke with the English customs as I said we are only driving in for fuel.

Once topped up it was back to Spain with 4 new stamps in the passport, at this rate our passport are going to fill up pretty fast.

We hit the road and start heading along the coast heading north east, Elaine is back on the app looking for our next stay and she’s comes across a very good sounding campsite.

To be continued…….

Day 10 & 11 daily costs:

SITE FEES: £21.46. FUEL:£62.60 DINING OUT: £56.95 GROCIERS: £9.94 CABLE CAR: £34.00 PARKING COST: £3.86

TOTAL RUNING COSTS: £661.66 to date.

Day 10 Cadiz Parking Coordinates: 36.5378, -6.2898 (lat, lng) N 36° 32′ 16″ W 6° 17′ 23″ (lat, lng)

DAY 10 and 11 Gibraltar Coordinates: 36.1567, -5.3557 (lat, lng) N 36° 9′ 24″ W 5° 21′ 20″ (lat, lng)

If you want to follow our whole route, we are using Polarsteps to track our driving route LIVE, so click HERE to see more or follow.

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Happy and safe travels,

Scott & Elaine.

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