La Línea
On the road down the southern coast of Spain, you can see highway signs directing you toward La Línea, The Line. Officially it’s a town’s full name, La Línea de la Concepción, but unmistakably the line in question is the Spanish border with Gibraltar. Ceded in 1705, the Spanish have only recently, historically speaking, acknowledged this speck of land as foreign territory. When I walked over from Spain, it took only a minute for the guard to glance at my passport and wave me on to the painted road across the runway.
Gibraltar is only twice the size of New York City’s Central Park, and much of it that land is taken up by the Rock (a massive, prehistoric limestone cliff), and the awkwardly-placed airport. The towering Rock was valuable to the UK to monitor and serve ships in the Mediterranean, it also served a role as a check on Franco’s Spain during World War II. People attached significance to the Rock long before that though, going by the Neanderthal remains in its sea caves.
My brief impression of Gibraltar was that it was British, overwhelmingly so, to the point it was clear that it was clear that the UK government and local tourism departments had made it into sort of a theme park. Restaurants advertised fish & chips. Red double decker buses (though driving on the right side of the road). The Queen was on the money (Gibraltar circulates its own paper money and coins).
In the Brexit vote 96% of Gibraltar voted Remain, but today they are drawing closer to an uncertain, re-isolated future. To be honest it already has a special status— when I transferred at London Heathrow, I didn’t pass through UK customs. The most likely outcome is that Spain will have more control of the airport, which already lies in a ‘neutral zone’. But residents and workers on both sides of the line have a growing anxiety about where everyone will turn up. While one city in Spain offered a “BrunchIt”, the vibe was less jovial here. One postcard shows flag-waving apes writing home: “Hands off we are British”.
These apes, sort of baboon-like, can mostly be found at the top of the Rock. After taking a cable car to the top and wandering around the visitor center, I took a path down to where they had all gathered. Despite many Planet of the Apes-level warnings about wild animals, they unabashedly climbed all over their favorite tour guides.
Gibraltar’s odd position within the UK and EU has made it a popular spot for banks, trade, gambling, and the new industries of online gambling and Bitcoin mining. I’ve noticed this in other isolate territories and small countries — they find themselves making the most money from loopholes in their parent nations’ financial regulations. More optimistically, it is easier for a small, unencumbered local government to enact sensible rules about new products, such as proposed ICO regulation in Gibraltar.
I only had a day in Gibraltar (staying overnight in nearby Algeciras), but I’m happy to see it as open as it is today. It’s a small place, but it has more tours and historical sites than I’d expected; maybe next time I would be able to see Africa, or explore some of the tunnels.
If you are not from the US/UK/EU and are considering visiting Gibraltar, DO NOT look up UK / EU travel requirements; double-check VisaHQ here.
