Day 323 – Friday 25th January 2019
Another sunny day in Andalusia. Today we’re moving on to Tarifa, the southernmost point on mainland Spain.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The tour started with a minibus trip to the lighthouse where the Atlantic ocean met the Mediterranean sea.
Next stop was the obligatory camel ride; €2 for 2 minutes.
Then we stopped off at the caves of Hercules.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Day 327 – Tuesday 29th January 2019
An overcast and very windy day. Up early and packed, heading for Gibraltar.
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.
Off into Gibraltar after lunch.
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.
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.
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.
After a hectic week I am looking to relax for a few days