Tarifa & Cadiz

Where there are strong winds and gorgeous waves, you will find hundreds of windsurfers living out of their vans. You will also likely find a great beach, friendly people, fabulous food & beer. 

This sweet little spot sits a couple miles north of Tarifa, the southernmost point in Spain and just 9 miles north of Africa across the Gibralter Strait.

 We spent hours at this beach, touring sand dunes. 

Cecilia was the only brave enough to slip into the clear blue waters of the Atlantic. 

Sunset beach dinners are a common theme for us these days

Lunches on the beach are pretty common, too.

Goofing off at the beach near Rota, where we spent a week lounging at a small resort. It was a relaxing beach week, despite having to deal with business and domestic issues such as buying a new fridge for our house in Boise & making sure we would get new credit cards sent to Spain after learning ours were compromised. 

Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe. 

It's a lively city situated on a narrow strip of land with beautiful views of the Atlantic for as far as the eyes can see. This walled city has some of the narrowest streets we have yet to encounter, which made driving into the city a slight nightmare. After finding a place to stash the car, we set off on foot to find what lay at the heart of this intriguing city. 

At one point we were walking down a street and as we passed a couple in front of us, a huge bulldog sprinted around the corner almost knocking Cecilia down. Behind him a man on a scooter buzzed by us chasing after the racing dog. A frightful experience springing from around any corner, but even more so when you are in a five foot wide corridor with no escape. I didn't take pictures of the streets because they were so narrow they were extremely dark :)

Views from the outside

Paelle at a central market is always the best way to go in Spain.

Chasing pigeons at the city beach

We finally pulled our our camping gear near Tarifa. 

Camping is a whole different experience in Spain. Think KOAs. 

We brought all of our backcountry camping gear to Spain in hopes to get off the beaten track. We have since learned that there isn't much of a backcountry here, and no one is allowed to camp in the little natural space they have protected.

You will only find private campgrounds in Spain, all equipped with pools, restaurants, and stores. One five star campground had a fancy buffet dinner that we gorged on, and afterwards a group of Disney Characters whisked our kids away to a dance floor in the next room so that adults could enjoy an apres dinner drink. 

The kids were good sports even though they thought it was odd: