Spain – Algeciras (En)

Our visit to Algeciras wasn’t planned, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Algeciras is a port city where people go to catch the ferry to Morocco. It’s right next to Gibraltar, offering incredible views of the Rock and the Moroccan coast. We had passed through many times on our way to Tarifa, etc., but had never actually visited Algeciras itself. We ended up going to Algeciras because we needed to get our car inspected (MOT) and there were no appointments available for the San Pedro inspection until mid-January, so we made an appointment at the Algeciras MOT station and decided to spend the day there. To our surprise, we discovered historic areas like San Isidro, exhibitions, a lively main square, and plenty of bars and restaurants.

What to see

We invited our friends Carmen and Phil to come with us for the day, as they hadn’t been to Algeciras either. We parked near the centre and went to see the Saint Isidro neighbourhood, which we’d heard was beautiful. We walked up a hill and came across a cobbled street lined with white houses and lovely orange trees.

From there, you walk down the street to Plaza Alta, which is the main square, decorated for Christmas, very lively, and with benches adorned with handcrafted tiles. In the square, you can also see the Church of Our Lady of La Palma, an 18th-century church. Unfortunately, the church was closed; therefore, we couldn’t go inside.

Across from the square, on a corner, is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary of Europe, which was open, so we visited it. It’s a simple chapel that I found quite charming.

To the left of the square is the main street, with tapas bars, where, to our surprise, we found an exhibition hall exhibiting the ancient history of Algeciras and other towns in Cadiz.

We continued walking along the street, saw the Town Hall and entered the old Military Hospital where the municipal nativity scene was located.

At the end of the street is the Archaeological Park of the Merinid Walls: remains of the ancient Arab city, including baths and towers.

What to eat

We asked the locals where we could eat well, and they recommended a restaurant in the square where the statue honouring mothers is located, so we went there. Ben and I had braised pork cheeks with fries, Carmen had ribs with rice, and Phil had chicken curry. Each dish was 7 euros, and everything was delicious! The waiters are very friendly; I highly recommend it if you go to Algeciras.

After lunch, we went to the port to see the views of the Rock of Gibraltar and take a walk to work off our meal.

To our disappointment, my car failed its MOT test because of brake compression issues, so we had to stay in Marbella longer than we’d anticipated. The good news is that we took it to our mechanic, who didn’t charge us because he said it was a minor problem. On January 7th, the car passed its MOT test.

We left Marbella on January 9th for Caleta de Velez, a charming and authentic fishing village in the Axarquía region of Málaga, which you can see in the next blog post.