Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures

2026 – Europe – Ep. 12 – Rivers that run red

Written by Chester

After driving 3000km through the tame parts of Europe, I was ready for some mountains and wilderness. We also wanted to check out Gibraltar. Driving around the EU long term on foreign license plates means we have to leave every 6 months – and Gibraltar is not in the EU anymore.

Headwaters of the Rio Tinto river, where the Rio Tinto mining company (3rd biggest in the world) took it’s name. Pyrite (iron sulfide) rusts on freshly broken rock, producing rusty and very acidic water.
Spain had a dam collapse on a tailings pond in this area about 20 years ago. All dams are temporary.
A bit questionable, flying over this abandoned mine / tourist site. But less crazy than flying over the active mine…
Spain has done a great job of turning an environmental disaster into a successful tourist attraction. That’s why the world needs marketers.

On the way to Gibraltar, we find a nice mountain chain packed with several summits.

We get our first glimpse of Gibraltar and Africa!

Chasing mountains is a bit silly, but I always need a project so supporting Marta’s obsession gives traveling a purpose.

Just one…more…peak…
Back home at 10pm. Bread, cheese, brush teeth and pass out.
Often, the crux of mountains in Europe is getting through the fences between you and the summit. This is as close as we will get to Africa on this trip.
Sunset at Gibraltar as we run away.
At the south end of Gibraltar is a monument to a Polish general (Sikorski) who died here in a mysterious plane crash in WWII.

Gibraltar should have been amazing. So much history, a plate of fish and chips, cheap gas… Unfortunately, we couldn’t figure out parking, and major tourist attractions were closed. Cities are complicated, especially European cities. North America has way too many cars, but we have even more parking spaces. Europe is desperately short of parking, and it’s stressful.

I’ve realized why people go for packaged tours. Going to a random city in Europe, storing your car somewhere, figuring out public transit, attractions, accomodations is a huge amount of research. Marta and I are taking the easy way out – drive around in our house, pick a mountain, drive as high up as possible, and walk the rest of the way. Simple.

But Gibraltar did sell us 110L of the cheapest gas we’ve seen in Europe. And Spain’s mountains are getting bigger as we go east.

Chester Fitchett
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