24.3. Estepona

We leave Torre del Mar and continue west to Estepona. The stop at Camping Tropical near Estepona is short as it is close to the Mediterranean highway and we are not spoiled by much traffic. Since the weather is not so great, we spend the afternoon relaxed by the heated pool, equipped with enough reading material.

The next day, we leave early to drive to Tarifa, 92 km west - an absolute surf paradise for kite and windsurfers on the famous Valdevaqueros beach and also the southernmost point of the European mainland. So our expectations are high... and we are not disappointed. Already on our drive there, the landscape becomes greener for these latitudes. Dark brown cattle with huge horns graze on lush green hills and large forest areas unfold behind them. We drive along the coast and have a wonderful view of the Rock of Gibraltar and the nearby coast of Morocco. Unbelievably, with a ferry we would have landed on a different continent in just 14 km.

Finally, we arrive at the Camping de Valdevaqueros near the beach and take our place. The people who stay here are mainly surfers, so we quickly made contacts. The Valdevaqueros bay is popular with surfers because the Mediterranean and the Atlantic merge here, providing sufficient wind for good surfing conditions all year round. In addition, the wide white sandy beach is unique to the region, and I have never found soooo many huge shells like here. So my main activity for the next few days is also settled. On the first day, the weather is not so good for us, so we had to interrupt our extensive beach walk in some areas of whipping rain and we had nothing else to do but finish the pack of hot Spanish chocolate in the caravan.