La Línea de la Concepción

Saturday, 09.11.2019

Today, I started early to the long-distance train station in Madrid (Puerta de Atocha), and even went through a luggage check, then it was time to take the train again. This time, however, only 5.5 hours. On the way, I had a nice conversation with Virgil (Philippines) and was directly invited to the Philippines.

At around 2:00 pm, I arrived in San Roque and was picked up by my host Valen (Italy) by car. After a 15-minute drive, we arrived at his apartment in La Línea de la Concepción in the center of town. But I was not only picked up, but also cooked for and received a 'private' Free Walking Tour through La Línea. Valen has been living here for a few years, is currently studying for a tax consultant exam, and could tell me a lot about the city's development, drug smuggling, and its relationship with Gibraltar.

I owe the accommodation on his couch (a private room with a comfortable double bed) to the fact that we work in the same field and both are vegetarians. I have only one review on the Couchsurfing platform. These are very important, as you almost exclusively rely on the reviews when selecting surfers and hosts. But Valen said that since we seem to have similar values, he will give me a chance.

In the evening, I was taken directly to a birthday party at the 'Jesus Bar' and met a colorful, international group of amazing people. Including Michele (Italy), who spontaneously invited me for a hike the next day. And so we did.

Sunday, 10.11.2019

For the hike, we met at a café with a large group, mainly consisting of expats, at around 10:30 am. After a short car ride, about 30-40 people and some dogs set off to 'Montera del Torero' (Bullfighter's Hat). It's a beautiful rock formation where you can climb around, luckily enough for me. The rest of the 13 km hike was mostly flat through wild landscapes and lots of shrubs, sometimes a machete would have been useful. After filling up on sunshine and fresh air, I fell wonderfully tired into bed in the evening and could finally sleep really well for the first time.

Monday, 11.11.2019

This morning I found out that Nina (Austria), also part of the sailing crew, is now near La Línea. She is 24 years old, studying biology, a dog trainer, vegan, and has been on a world trip for a month. We have a lot in common and get along very well so far. We went for a little stroll together and cooked Shakshuka for Valen and Michele for lunch.

Since I've been sleeping so well, I'm no longer cold all the time, but my body is aching in some places. I will soon do a little yoga session and want to incorporate it back into my daily routine. I bought a space-saving yoga towel for that, which feels quite good. It's just too thin for the knees, so I have to put something underneath. Hopefully, my energy and flexibility will improve soon.

In the afternoon, Nina and I briefly went to the Ocean Village in Gibraltar and got a hat band for my cap. Since Nina got a pretty bad hostel in Algeciras, Valen kindly invited her to stay with us, so we will share the room from tomorrow on. So we can try out living together in a small space right away before we go on the boat.

By the way, we were supposed to leave tomorrow, but the SY Azzurra (mentioned boat), along with the skipper and part of the crew, is still stuck further northeast due to bad wind conditions and a leak in the diesel tank. The departure will therefore be delayed unknown, we will probably have to get used to that as well.