So close to Africa and never been there

Tarifa, the southernmost city and the southernmost mainland point of our continent. Due to its strategically important location at the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar, Tarifa has been the scene of historical events. Africa is only 14 km away. And with that comes a little 'taint' to the matter... refugees often make their way to Europe here. The strong current, winds, and often rough waves make the crossing on the overloaded and unsuitable boats dangerous and often deadly. Several hundred drownings are found on the Spanish beaches every year. In almost every rocky bay - and there are many of them here - there are remnants of rubber boats, planks or whole boats, engines, we stumbled upon a pink children's backpack and an empty travel bag, a lot of water bottles and water cans, a dead cow and barbed wire-fenced pastures everywhere. The imagination turned the puzzle pieces into movies, which sometimes made the hiking mood less enjoyable...

The tuna fish are carefree, which doesn't help them at all - they swim to the Mediterranean with dead bodies and then back to the Atlantic. There, the fishermen and the cans of preserves await them... lost.

But now, enough with the gloomy thoughts! Tarifa and its surroundings are actually super beautiful. We cycled our 6 km to Tarifa, and on our right, there was the sea and behind the sea, we could see the high mountains of Africa. I never thought about what the Moroccan coast looks like and somehow I was totally moved to have Africa so close before my eyes. The huge container ships passed majestically by the scenery; sometimes they looked like whole islands. Beautiful Atlantic beaches and rocky Mediterranean coves lie in front of Tarifa - the rock formations on the beach are fascinating and incredibly diverse. The fact that Tarifa lies between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic makes the city unique. We wandered through beautiful, narrow streets and then ended up in one of the delicious tapas bars... although in an elderly manner at 4 pm. When we went to bed, we were sober again ;-) The next day was spent with a peaceful beach walk around the dunes of Valdevaqueros - highlight: we went swimming on November 25 - how wonderful!

Before starting our first Advent weekend with a blues concert on Saturday evening, we also went on the Mediterranean coast hiking trail. It was varied and beautiful, with sunshine and wind in our faces, up and down and much longer than expected. We saw the bus from behind, and if we had not taken a taxi back, dinner would have been jeopardized and Michi's good mood as well. The subsequent concert was successful, small and nice, handmade blues - just to my taste.

And how do you celebrate the first Advent in Spain? You go to the beach! Here in Tarifa, it seemed like all the kite surfers in Europe were gathering. I have never seen so many colorful sails together, and it was a great sight. We had fun watching. After our walk, we had coffee and cake, and in the evening... of course... soccer: Germany against Spain, with burgers and beer, 1:1... fair.