Tarifa & Surroundings

We drove from Nerja directly to Tarifa after visiting the caves, passing through Malaga, Marbella, and Gibraltar. Since we needed to do some shopping, we quickly stopped in Tarifa before going to the campsite. At first glance, we already liked the small town, and this was confirmed the next day. We received a recommendation from a friend and the owner of the CP in Nerja to go to CP Torre de La Peña in Tarifa. It was really nice there, and we choose a place at the top with a view of the sea and, on a clear day, even to Africa. Unfortunately, it was very hazy, and we didn't see anything at first. But at night, we could see the lights 😉 In the evening, we went down to the bar by the sea, where we saw two fishermen taking a shark off the line. But we were not quick enough to take a picture....

The next day, we got on our bikes again to visit Tarifa and ride along the beautiful long sandy beach. However, we had to ride along the road for 7 km to reach the town, but it was no problem on the shoulder... Tarifa is really a nice little town, a bit worn down, with a hint of North Africa and somehow also hip because of the surfers and kite surfers. Small alleys with nice little shops - of course, some touristy stuff but also nice stores with unique items, such as Galeria del Mar. It is a German artist who creates pictures from old rusty anchors. Really beautiful, and we also took a picture home with us. There were also nice little bars and cafes and a great long sandy beach right in front. A great mixture, we really felt comfortable there. Of course, we went to the bridge that separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. It's somehow funny, the Mediterranean Sea was really calm and the Atlantic rough with waves, even though there is only this bridge in between....

For the next day, we had booked a whale-watching tour, and we were so excited! Somehow we were not aware at all that there are whales in the Strait of Gibraltar. We chose a tour with Firmm, which operates on a non-profit basis and researches and protects the whales. Before getting on the boat, there was a small introduction about what they do, but also about the animals that are found there. Then we finally set off. It felt like an eternity, and nothing happened, and then the first dolphins rushed by. There were more and more, having fun and swimming around. At some point, the captain accelerated because someone apparently saw something. And indeed, there were two pilot whales, but unfortunately, they were too far away to capture them in a picture. The whole time, we still hoped to see sperm whales or at least larger whales, but that was not the case. But at least, we saw whales!

Afterwards, we laid down at the beach for a while and then drove a little further along the coast to Bolonia Beach in the afternoon. We actually wanted to go to another bay with a huge dune for overnight stay, but apparently there were some film shootings going on, so there was an extra park attendant who made sure that no one was camping there. So we just walked around the dune for a bit and then continued to Bolonia Beach. We also stayed overnight right in the parking lot by the sea. We were a bit tense at first, whether we would be chased away because according to comments in the parking app, this had happened to others, but since there were only two other cars besides us, it seemed like no one cared. At Bolonia Beach, there is also a huge dune that you can climb, and we did that the next morning and had a great view over the whole bay, and Africa!

After that, we drove to El Palmar via Trafalgar (lighthouse). We parked on a small parking lot right behind the dune with a view of the sea.....😊 Since it is a popular surf spot, we always had something to watch. The next morning, we had great weather, so we moved our breakfast to the beach. Oh, such moments are simply priceless 😊 Since we liked it there so much, we decided to stay one more night. This time, to have a shower, a proper toilet, and electricity for the refrigerator, we moved to the campsite on-site. The beach was now about 1 km away, but it was no problem with bicycles 😉 On the campsite, we also met really nice people from Berlin and Switzerland whom we hope to meet again during our trip.