May 11-18, 2019
I have a lot of memories of Sunday afternoons as a kid in Seattle, mostly because they revolved around watching Seahawks games. When Scooter was too young to care, I’d watch downstairs by myself, dad taking a break from yard work once in a while to come in and check the score. There were intense rivalries in the AFC West, even though we rarely had hope of winning the division, like we do now. If we were running errands or spending an hour or two at Seattle Children's Theater, I was still listening to Pete Gross call the plays on my Walkman. I rarely missed a Sonics, Mariners, Huskies or Seahawks game, but one of the things that made the NFL as big as it is today has been the marketing over the years, mostly the commercials. And not only the Super Bowl variety. I could recite most of the "normal" commercials for Pepsi, Budweiser, and the law firms who can help "if you've been injured through no fault of your own", because we saw them at least 5 times on any given Sunday. But one that stands out in particular featured “The Rock”. Not the actor, nor the great film starring Nicholas Cage. It was for Prudential insurance. The tagline was “Get a piece of the Rock” and they showed a majestic landscape of a huge cliff over the ocean (not to be confused with the "Like a Rock" Chevy truck commercials). That image which burned into my mind as a child was the Rock of Gibraltar.
Turns out the Rock of Gibraltar is a real place and people actually live there! For a while I thought it was just some marketing invention. 30 years later, I finally got to visit this mythical landmark.
Gibraltar is a unique and charming place. It’s a tiny UK territory on the southern coast of Spain, just a stone's throw away from Morocco. It’s only 2.6 square miles (smaller than most districts in Warsaw), and I was able to literally jog around the whole thing.
It’s a bizarro world of things from the UK, but with palm trees and good weather, and a lot of lobster-red British tourists who’ve been out in the sun too long. Most people also speak Spanish, and a lot of the workers in the city come from across the border in Spain. The airport sits on the border, acting as a barrier; you actually walk across the airport runway to enter Gibraltar. The best part is that they call the border the "frontier", which sounds much cooler. It might be because of Star Trek, but the word “frontier” sounds more interesting and filled with possibilities.
The trip was for business, but as usual, I went a day early and stayed a day later to explore. Even though there’s an airport there, the flights are generally only from London. Warsaw flies to Malaga, Spain, which is a 200 euro taxi ride away. But considering the timing and ticket costs, this was actually the more convenient and cheaper route. Assuming your suitcases arrives with you. Which of course it didn't.
I was caught in a small dilemma, without a suitcase and not knowing when it would arrive. The insurance rules were unclear, and I didn't want to buy a bunch of stuff I didn't need, nor if I wasn't going to be reimbursed. I was on the phone with the insurance company to find out what they would pay for, while at the same time trying on business shirts in a Marks & Spencer. Turns out I’d only be allowed to make a claim if my suitcase was missing for more than 4 hours, so I didn't buy anything. Plus, they found my suitcase (but didn't say in which country), so it should arrive any minute/hour/day. The airline asked me to stay near the border, I mean, the frontier, since the courier from the Spanish airport wouldn’t be able to enter Gibraltar. I had to literally walk to another country to pick up my suitcase. The challenge is that they couldn’t give me an approximate time. Which didn’t make sense since they had to drive 90 minutes from Malaga to deliver it, so you’d think they could at least say "it's going to be at least 90 minutes". I called a few times and they never had an answer (and started making me doubt it was coming at all). I wandered around that part of the city, and crossed into Spain for a while to go to the beach. That’s when I saw it; the view of the Rock from the commercials! So I owe this moment to the airline losing my suitcase.
I was hungry but it was the time of the day when restaurants were closed so I couldn’t find any good food (argh, Spain!). It was approaching the length of delay where I’d be reimbursed for buying new clothes, but on Saturdays the shops close at 5pm and wouldn’t be open on Sunday. I had to decide quickly if I was gonna need a bunch of new business casual attire for Monday. I was tired and sweaty and hope conquered over logic. I decided to roll the dice and wait. Luckily the bag arrived late that night, after a 14 hour delay. It was a relief that I wouldn’t have to wear the same sweaty clothes for the next 2 days, but I also felt like I wasted a lot of time hanging around the frontier. Even though I was able to collect some money for the delay, it took months because they said I couldn’t prove what time I actually received the bag (the amount was based on the number of hours it was delayed). Luckily I took a photo of the bag when it arrived, but with no official document from the courier showing the exact time, it was hard to convince them. I wonder why they don’t make the courier sign something as part of the process since they know there will be insurance claims...or maybe it’s on purpose to make the insurance claims so difficult? Come on guys, I just want a fair piece of the rock!
By the end of all this, I became very good at crossing the border, which was really easy if walking; it was like walking into a low security office building and showing your access badge to a security guard. You flash your passport, sometimes they look up from their desk and sometimes they might ask a question, but generally you just keep walking.
Gibraltar is a very old city, with a history of rule under various ethnic and religious groups. As such, there has been influence from all over the Mediterranean, and it's home to a lot of different speaking accents. It's enjoyable to hear so many different types of people when wandering the streets, most of whom are "local". When I'd hear someone speak quickly, sometimes I couldn't tell what language it was; a varietal of British English, Spanish or something else entirely. It was a fun game to play.
Even with the "wasted" day around the frontier, I was able to do the thing I wanted the most, and that’s hike up the rock. Even though he was talking about Alcatraz, I couldn’t help but repeat to myself in my best Sean Connery voice (RIP) “Welcome to the Rock”. I sounded pretty good, in my head. It was a nice hike with a lot of great views. You can see Morocco if you try hard. If you don’t try hard you can at least see a bunch of monkeys. In fact they were everywhere, even hanging out inside a gift shop.
Speaking of animals, I noticed that when people walked their dogs, they’d spray something on the spot after the dog peed. Not sure what it is but it was nice to see people taking an extra step beyond picking up after their dogs. At the office, I got to know several people who were all very welcoming. It definitely had the positive vibe of a community where everyone knows and supports everyone. I guess that can also be a challenge because you also can’t avoid people if you wanted to (frenemies, needy clients, crazy exes, etc)...you walk down the main street and there’s a good chance you’ll see someone you know. They took us out for meals and drinks, suggested some nice places and generally made sure we were enjoying the visit.
Since I had to fly out of Malaga, I decided to spend a day there on the way back. I expected Malaga to be a sleepy beach town for some reason, but it was huge...or maybe it just seemed huge compared to Gib (we call it Gib by the way). I found a cheap hotel near the train station, which was literally a bed and bathroom.
The city is one of the oldest in Europe, going back to the 8th century BC and is gorgeous to walk around. I visited the 10th century castle on the hill and walked past the museum of Picasso’s birthplace (but didn’t go in since I’m cheap). Antonio Banderas was also born in Malaga, which I only bring up because when watching the movie “Life Itself” last night, Z asked me if he was Spanish. Interesting movie by the way, especially if you like the series This is Us (same writer).
After 9pm the restaurants were packed, and there were so many choices I had no idea what to try. Tapas, wine bars, outdoor seating, everywhere you turned. People all looked very fancy too. I found a cozy looking place with 1 euro tapas so I could try several dishes. Not being able to share a bunch of dishes is a downside of solo travel...
I checked the calendar and made a note that the weather over the last week was perfect...May is a good time to visit. Low to mid 20s, sunny, light wind. I’ll need to bring Z back so we can try more tapas and desserts. And to show off my great Sean Connery accent.
