I know that I do go on about the trams and pedal cycles in and around Edinburgh, and quite rightly so, however on my recent trip to Gibraltar I was lucky enough to be there when the QE 2 was visiting. One of our friends was on board with his wife and said they had a fantastic time, upgraded to a suite, etc. Still did not stop them getting off to pop into the local M & S Store.
Just coincidental that while waiting for the QE 2 to sail, two of the military planes took off from the airport and headed out to sea, not sure what they were geared up for, could have been searching for drug runners, submarines, etc, but impressive planes which went out every day we were there.
With so much smuggling going on across the border, of drugs and tobacco, the Police were very active with high profile patrols, this patrol boat was in the West Bay beside the airport, where, with only a few yards to the border cigarette smuggles were very active. £2.60p for a packet of twenty, half the price they are in Spain and £6 less than the UK, good old British Tax laws. Still no match for the high speed RIBS which cross the Straits from Morocco at up to seventy miles an hour and can only be caught by helicopters.
As Monarch Airlines recently went bust, there are very few airlines other than Easy Jet and British Airlines flying into this small but modern airport, unusual in that all traffic from Gibraltar to Spain is stopped when planes come in to land as vehicles have to cross the runway. One thing I did like was that the Duty free in the airport was cheaper for drink and tobacco than the local shops and they supply tamper proof bags which allow you to transit / change planes on the way home without the risk of having anything over 100ml confiscated. Even the cafe in the airport was cheap, unlike the usual rip off establishments in the majority of airports around the world.
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