We're finally on the road again. We could have stayed longer in Estepona: we had a great location on our car park, with a lovely view, walking distance to everything, plus brilliant weather - a very easy place to while away our remaining days until the journey home. But we're all running out of steam a bit - we know we're coming to the end of the trip - and it is still a whole week until our ferry: for me, the best way to shake off the malaise is to DO something.
So this morning we headed off to Tarifa, the very bottom of Spain. The road passed through rolling hills that were surprisingly lush and green, given how far south we were - Kevin said it looked like Wales - with, in the distance, the looming precipitous bulk of Gibraltar - it really is quite a Rock. You could also clearly see Africa, not far away at all, across the short stretch of sea with huge cargo ships cutting through it.
Tarifa itself was a mixture of grotty (most of the modern buildings); quaint (a pretty, unrefurbished Old Town with some great old walls and a 13th C archway); and a surfers' paradise - it's known for its wind and waves, so there were surf shops and surf bars a-plenty. We had a sunny walk along the promenade, grotty on one side, and a beautiful long stretch of wild white sand and Atlantic waves on the other. Then a short stop at a little beach on the Med side - the water was noticeably warmer (and it's apparently saltier too - that's my fact of the day); before lunch in the Old Town in the lee of a massive old church. Another menu del dia, good food, slow service. Kevin wanted to push on rather than stay the night (he isn't a fan of the surfer hippy vibe, unlike me - in an alternative life I would have been one of the scruffy types in a campervan waiting for my wave, man..). But I was up for exploring somewhere else, so off we went.
Not far from Tarifa, the spirit of adventure nearly got us into trouble. A turning off the main road towards the beautiful coastline started as a tarmacked road, but got narrower, and then deteriorated into an unpaved track, with low trees, and quite deep sand, too narrow for us to turn around. Some surprised residents directed us a bit further on, and where the road actually stopped there was thankfully a turning area. Then slowly back from whence we came.
Now getting late, we followed signs to a possible night stop. And it turned out to be a very pretty hilltop town. We found a street parking spot outside a florist, opposite a supermarket - but, as always, with the blinds up, you could be anywhere and it doesn't matter. And then my final, cheering treat of the day: Kevin and Jemima had lots of fun playing with mini balloons and a spinning light-flashing music-playing Minion I'd bought in Tarifa, leaving me to read my book and drink tea - lovely. And we can explore the town tomorrow. It's good to be on the move again.
Farewell our Esteponan marina car park:
The road south and the Rock of Gibraltar:
Tarifa:
Our detour:
Playing in Beatrix:
Estepona to Vejer de la Frontera:
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