Out and About in Tarifa

We will have had three nights in Tarifa by the time we depart, finally on our bikes. We have really enjoyed experiencing a place whose name we did not even know before - and it really is such a pivotal place geographically and historically. Though small, the port sees the highest number of passengers due to the frequent ferries between Tarifa and Tangier. The port served as a base for German torpedo boats with Spanish crews during WW II. It is still a fishing village with red seabream and red tuna being the main catches and Jim had some very nice grilled red tuna for dinner the other night. The fish boats in the harbour look very small compared to the boats in our part of the world. There is a small but very attractive market building with lots of fish and seafood on display.

We roamed around the old town and out onto the walk leading to La Paloma Isla that marks the official divide between the Atlantic and the Med. We were not able to walk on the island - perhaps you need to be on a tour. It was used as a burial site by the Phoenicians but limestone has been quarried there since Roman times and it has been used for various military and prison purposes. However, it was a great place to watch the wind and kite surfers. Looks like crazy fun - if you started at age 10.

It’s a very pretty old town and it is great not to be dodging vehicles or hearing traffic noises, though the odd car makes what seems an impossible journey down the tiny streets.

We also discovered that there is a 26 km trail, the Sandro Europa Arco Mediterrania, all along the coast heading back from Tarifa to Algeciras, part of the Camino. We did an initial exploration but it looked pretty treacherous so we decided to research the route further before risking a disastrous plunge down the cliffs. Having done that, we realized we should have followed a small road, not the goat path, so made that became our planned activity for the following day.

After breakfast in the narrow little breakfast room (enticingly surrounded by lovely pottery but it is much too early in the trip for that kind of purchase), with the resident dog, Chico, we headed for the path.

We found the marker we had missed the first time and ended up having a great 3 1/2 hr. 14 km round trip hike in brilliant sunshine, though we did not make it as far as Algeciras. Planning ahead, one could do the full 26 Km and take a bus back to Tarifa, but that would be a long day.

It was wonderful to see miles of undeveloped coast with just the odd house on higher elevations, and the company of a few cows and horses roaming free. This area is called the Parque Natural del Estrecho.

There are the remains of wartime bunkers every so often, always a weird reminder in Europe of how much tragedy and violence an area has seen.

The path was fairly rugged and you had to watch your footing but it was stunning scenery with some interesting succulents, cacti and wildflowers, the blue Med below and Morocco so close. We were both wishing we had worn shorts. Still getting used to the warm sunshine.

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I found the perfect waterfront home. Only a wee bit of reno work required.

We finally turned around and made our way back to Tarifa. A restorative coffee and pastry was required!

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Jim worked on the bikes for a bit while I worked on my tan! Not really. Eventually we walked down to the harbour to see the sun set over Africa. It’s chilly with the wind when the sun goes down so we had a drink in a glassed-in bar right on the beach, and then headed back into town for dinner.

This is a typical outfit for people in Tarifa - toques (wind) and sunglasses (mucho sun).

We decided we couldn’t do better than Vaca Loca, the first little bar/restaurant where we had dinner the first night. It’s tiny little inside but lots of people sit out around heaters and it is literally around the corner from our hotel. One server, one cook - and it’s all done on a wood fired grill.

We sat at the bar next to people from Switzerland. I had a steak & mushroom pie, probably the best I have ever eaten & Jim had the “secret Iberian pig”. Definitely time to stop eating frites though, delicious as they are here. Good thing we had a 28,000 step day and will be on the bikes tomorrow!