Week 47

Day 323 – Friday 25th January 2019

Another sunny day in Andalusia. Today we’re moving on to Tarifa, the southernmost point on mainland Spain.

It was only a short trip to Camping Torre de la Pena.

The lady at reception told me to go and see if there was a suitable pitch for the van. There was but I knew Julie wasn’t going to enjoy getting to it; the site is on the side of a hill and the access is steep & narrow with a couple of hairpin bends.

A couple of Julie panic attacks later we were nicely parked up

It has to be said Cfor has adapted wonderfully to the traveling life. He hardly complains when we are driving along and when we arrive somewhere he jumps down the steps and has a nose around for a while before exploring further afield. And he absolutely loves going out a night.

Cfor spots the dog next door

The perfect end to the day, a sunset to go with a bottle of cold beer

Day 324 – Saturday 26th January 2019

An overcast start to the day with a sea mist thrown in. It had cleared up by lunchtime and we motored into Tarifa to have a look around and book an excursion to Tangiers.

Not too much in town; just the old town walls and a castle.

Tarifa from the old town’s walls

The castle at Tarifa

In Tarifa Castle

Trying to crouch down a few inches I’m actually in some agony here

Day 325 – Sunday 27th January 2019

Up early and into Tarifa to catch the ferry to Tangier. It was an overcast and breezy day. The ferry was supposed to leave at 9am and the journey was supposed to take only 35 minutes but we hadn’t even set sail by 09:35. That was all down to the sheer amount of luggage all the Moroccans had brought.

Every last bloody piece had to be scanned

When we finally arrived in Tangier we were met by Rashid a man who spoke excellent English but who wasn’t a great advert for Moroccan dentistry.

The tour started with a minibus trip to the lighthouse where the Atlantic ocean met the Mediterranean sea.

A photo op

Next stop was the obligatory camel ride; €2 for 2 minutes.

Gizz a kiss

Then we stopped off at the caves of Hercules.

The more caves I see the less impressed I am.

I was impressed however with the argument Rashid had with a security guard over one of the party being asked for €1 to use a toilet. It sounded like Rashid might just self-combust and he gave the young guard a fearful bollocking.

Next we were dropped off in Tangier itself and Rashid led us through a souk and some backstreets to a restaurant for lunch.

A souk. In Spain we were warned told to keep our money in our front pockets because of pickpockets. So just like Barcelona then.

Everything is a bit basic in the backstreets of Tangier

Some of the backstreets we walked through were decidedly dodgy and I certainly wouldn’t have walked down them alone but Rashid seemed to know everyone in Tangier.

While walking around I bought a tee shirt for €10. I didn’t really have time to bargain and later in the day when I tried to brush off a tee shirt seller away by saying I already had one he said I could have another for just €5!

At lunch I was surprised to find the waiters knew what a vegetarian was. that’s one up on Spain, Portugal & France.

The food was okay but nothing spectacular

the house band added to the atmosphere, for a couple of Euros.

After lunch we were shown round the old parts of the town and we were led into various shops and even a museum. I got the impression Rashid had arrangements with these shops.

ChipAdvisor; these were top chips from a little café that was very popular with the locals. They cost me half a Euro 5/5

Ray Charly – the only place to eat in Tangier

I’ve been in two minds about whether to spend a few weeks next winter in Morocco but after just 8 hours I’ve had enough of the place. I’m looking to relax, I just don’t need the stress that comes with a 3rd world country.

Day 326 – Monday 28th January 2019

A beautiful morning. Had a lazy day.

After yesterday a walk on the beach was more than enough excitement for the day

Day 327 – Tuesday 29th January 2019

An overcast and very windy day. Up early and packed, heading for Gibraltar.

Cfor has been very happy here

Doris kept insisting the campsite at San Roque was 140km away when Google has it at about 40km. Eventually we decided to ignore Doris and headed for Algeciras then on to San Roque. It was about 40km.

Camping La Casita is a bit scruffy and quite a few euros over priced but it has decent wifi by the reception so I can download some TV.

Off into Gibraltar after lunch.

I was last here 35 years ago and it’s changed a bit and not for the better.

The traffic is terrible. There are an enormous number of scooters on the streets and they wiz about the crowded narrow streets as if they were all Italians.

We had a walk down Main Street, I wasn’t impressed. I googled best fish chips Gibraltar. It came up with Roy’s Fish & Chips, just at the end of Main Street.

ChipAdvisor; oh dear. Some were hot, some were cold, some were over cooked, some were nearly raw but all were greasy. 0/5

Later we tried to get to see the apes but the road up the rock is restricted these days and tourists can’t drive up there now. It’s a nature reserve nowadays and  you have to either take a tour or a taxi or walk and they charge you £5 for that privilege. It was cold and it’d been a long day so we headed back to camp.

Day 328 – Wednesday 30th January 2019

A wet start to the day and Julie’s and my weather apps disagreed about the forecast. Waterproofs on and back into Gib.

Getting a scooter to the start of the nature reserve at Moorish Castle was a bit of a challenge. These steep little roads were made for horses and mules not little motorbikes and cars.

Warning, monkeys bite!

There are about 240 Barbary macaques on Gibraltar

The security guard by the feeding station showed Julie how to get an ape to climb on her shoulder.

The trouble is once an ape is on your shoulder other apes think there must be food involved so they climb on too.

The victor of the ensuing fight took a fancy to Julie’s hat.

The runway with La Linea in the background

One of these flags is coming down in a few weeks and the locals are expecting some fun and games.

Day 329 Thursday 31st January 2019

The day started eventfully as the campsite cat came to visit Cfor in our van at about 8am. Cue lots of unholy screeching. It was a wet morning and we set off for Marbella.

It didn’t take too long to reach Camping La Bungavilla and I set off on Zippy to explore Marbella itself.

It was blowing a bloody gale down at the front.

After a hectic week I am looking to relax for a few days

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