The Southernmost Point of Europe, Then West

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Tarifa is a sleepy town known for kite and wind surfing. Near the impressive harbor is a crumbling old castle, Castillo de Guzman, which was boarded up tight for renovations. Yet, from its top plaza we could see the coast of North Africa, some 8.5 miles away. Because of the narrow strait, Tarifa is a popular spot for whale and dolphin watching.

After exploring Tarifa, we drove west along the Spanish coast and then inland a tad to the US Navy base town of Rota. The streets of Rota are lined with lovely stucco homes with walled courtyards out front. Our hotel had a bit of beachfront but the waves of the Atlantic were not impressive, perhaps due to low tide.

The next day, we headed to Cadiz, on the coast. This busy city juts out into the ocean on a skinny spit of land. Cadiz is entirely rimmed with beaches except for the shipping ports. My visit here did not begin well. I got trapped inside a parking garage stairwell. The crinkled paper sign on the door said “Cerrado” (Closed) but I did not read the entire text and assumed it meant that the plaza above was closed, not the stairwell itself. The door out was blocked from the outside and the door in had no handle or knob on the inside. Anant had gone ahead of me in a different direction and had turned off his phone to save on roaming charges. It was about 20 minutes before he came to rescue me. Boy, did I feel stupid! Anyway, on with Cadiz…Being the James Bond fan that Anant is, we headed to Playa de la Galeta where an old fort still stands. This fort was filmed in the movie, Die Another Day. From the beach we strolled through the coastal park.

Inland from Cadiz is a town named Puerta de Santa Maria. This area is famous for its bodegas (wineries) which produce fine sherry. Unfortunately for us, we arrived after all the bodegas were closed for the day. Hungry, we found an excellent Italian restaurant called Caruso.

Next stop- Seville.

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