ALGECIRAS occupies the far side of the bay from Gibraltar. It is the last town of the Spanish Mediterranean, it must once have been an elegant resort; today it's a port and industrial centre, its suburbs extending on all sides, and almost all construction is of modern vintage. When Franco closed the border with Gibraltar at La Línea it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers formerly employed in the British naval dockyards, thus breaking the area's dependence on the Rock ( Gibraltar ) .

It is far from being one of the areas main tourist attractions and most people will pass or vist here on transit to Morocco.Yet some touch of colour is added by the groups of Moroccans in transit, dressed in flowing jallabahs and yellow slippers, and lugging unbelievable amounts of possessions. Algeciras has a real port atmosphere, and even passing through it's hard to resist the urge to get on a boat south, if only for a couple of days in Tangier.