Andalucia, Part 2

29th October, 1999

We awoke to another warm, fine day and drove south to Tarifa on the infamous N340 road.  This section, however, is not too busy and in a good state of repair.  We passed Vejer and made a note that we should return to explore it.   Just before our camp site, at Punta Paloma, we noticed the turn to yet more Roman ruins at Baelo Claudia.  We entered the Paloma Camp Site and were reassured when we found the New Zealand flag, took a pitch nearby and set up camp. 

After lunch Alan and Carolyn returned.  They had found information on a seven day tour of Morocco and we decided to go to Algeciras immediately to see what other tours might be available and book up.  The drive from Tarifa to Algeciras over the headland is very impressive, with Africa clearly visible across the Straits and Gibraltar coming into view as we descended into Algeciras.  We found the booking agents and played one against the other till we got a discount.  We felt pretty pleased until we later met two Aussies who had bought the same tour in Malaga for even less.  We also met later Aussies who had paid almost twice as much before leaving Australia for the same tour.  The lesson here being to buy excursions in the resort and to bargain very hard.  We had booked for Sunday and so returned to spend the rest of the day and the following one in Tarifa.

30th October, 1999

We went into Tarifa to find the internet cafe and tourist office, but as it was Saturday both were shut and we contented ourselves with a walk round the old town.   Above left is the Moorish gate to the old town and in the centre the large paved area just outside the old town.  Above right is the port from which there used to be a fast catamaran to Tangiers.  We found the old town market and bought some fish for lunch. 

After lunch we went to join Alan and Carolyn on the beach a little way from the site.  The beach, shown far left, stretches for miles and is the favourite haunt of wind surfers.  Behind the beach is an enormous dune, shown left with Alan galloping down it.

We had never heard of Tarifa before we left England but we have grown to to like it and the area around.   It is where the Moors first landed when they invaded Spain and is one of the most consistently windy places in Europe.  Since we had arrived, it had been dead calm, with a cloudless sky.  The hill tops around are covered with windmills which looked idle and forlorn.  A little way from our pitch, two young Danish men, who needed strong winds for their short boards, whiled away the time playing ball games.  The camp site is large and fairly well appointed, considering its two-star rating, and it was destined to be our longest stay so far. 

31st October, 1999

We woke early and watched the final Grand Prix at Suzuka as best we could.   The previous night we had rigged our aerial as high as we could up a tree, but we could still only obtain a blurred monochrome signal.   We followed the race, mostly from the titles generated by the FIA as we could barely see the picture and could not understand the commentary.  A satellite dish is now a priority. 

We packed up quickly, threw Alan and Carolyn's clobber in our caravan and set off for Morocco.

6th November, 1999

We arrived back from Morocco at about 4  in the afternoon and set about finding a supermarket.  We never did find the big one in Algeciras and contented ourselves with the one in Tarifa, when it finally opened at 5 o'clock.  Once back in camp, we set about putting up the awning as we knew it would be dark before we would be having dinner - which was to be a joint effort.  Our barbecue that was now on its second trip around Europe, was set up and used for the first time!

7th November, 1999

After our excitement, we spent a quiet Sunday around the camp and on the beach.   The wind for which Tarifa is known had returned and the wind-surfers were having a great time.  The sun-bathers, however, were being sand-blasted and we did not put up with it for long.  Most of those we spoke to in Morocco had had some sort of tummy upset and we felt pretty pleased to have been spared.  However, by now we had the familiar symptoms and were to spend the next few days carefully.

After the soakings and awful roads of Portugal, the camp at Dos Hermanas, and Morocco we felt some empathy with Byron who almost 200 years earlier had written from Portugal "......and I have got diarrhoea and bites from the mosquitoes.    But what of that?   Comfort must not be expected by folks that go a-pleasuring."

8th November, 1999

We asked Ron to send our mail.  With hindsight, we should have done so before we left for Morocco, as  we were then committed to hang around till it arrived.   Alan and Carolyn set off early to visit Gibraltar and we decided to do a bit of house cleaning.  The exceptionally wet weather we had experienced on the way south had left our curtains mildewed and we took them and an enormous bag of laundry into town, together with rolls of film from Morocco.  We dropped in at the local supermarket and were a little surprised to be greeted by an Australian couple we had met in Morocco.  They too had the tummy upset. 

9th November, 1999

We went into town with Alan and Carolyn to collect the photos and then bade them farewell as they took off for Ronda and points north.  We were sorry to see them go, but thought we would settle down to a somewhat more leisurely way of life.  Alan and Carolyn are seasoned travellers who were travelling light, were always ready before us and intent on cramming as much as possible into their limited time in Europe.  We hope to visit them in New Zealand before too long.

We were just beginning to settle down to being on our own and had cooked dinner when there came a knock upon the window.  We went to see who it might be and were amazed to find that Janusz and Bronwyn, who we had met in Morocco, had found us.  We stretched our meal to feed four and Janusz supplied copious quantities of wine he just happened to have with him.  They had booked into one of the bungalows on the site.  

10th November, 1999

Wednesday was spent quietly, tidying up and writing up our journal.  Janusz and Bronwyn went touring, but invited us to dine in their bungalow that evening.   Bronwyn had prepared a most enjoyable meal and there was the usual ample supply of wine.  We had a most convivial evening with conversation ranging over many topics.   Janusz is a most interesting individual, being a Polish emigré. 

11th November, 1999

Despite the regular doses of Vitamin C, David awoke in the middle of the night with a very sore throat that was later to prove to be a bad cold.  We stayed close to camp and continued writing.   We invited Janusz and Bronwyn to dinner and had another good evening, despite David's cold. 

12th November, 1999

The night had been a bit disturbed with thunder and lightning, which Janusz told us had kept him awake.  Our discussion of tsunamis of the previous night had also preyed on his mind as we were only a few metres above sea level.  We told him he should worry more about driving on Spanish roads. 

We continued with our journal till lunch and then, though the weather was not good, decided to see the Roman ruins near Bolonia.  The forum and baths are shown to the right.

We were surprised at the size and completeness of the ruins and could not help marvelling at how idyllic this Roman town of Baelo Claudia must have been, sited on the edge of golden sands, surrounded by mountains and facing the mountains of Africa.   After visiting the ruins, we returned to camp and changed into smart clothes to visit Tarifa, where we had agreed to meet Bronwyn and Janusz for tapas.  David's cold was playing up, so we left town early.

Last updated:  18/03/01