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Published: March 26th 2008
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These are of our first real travels together (not just wandering around town), from April and March.
We decided to go on a canyoning trip that took place in la Garganta Verde. The "Green Gorge" is located in sunny southern Spain in the region of Andalusia. The gorge is located in Parque Natural de la Sierra de Grazalema. This nature park was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977. What does this mean? It means it's a breathtakingly, beautiful chunk of untouched land where you can wander about for hours without the hustle & bustle of the cities. Just you and nature. And maybe the small group you are with. So we hiked gradually down for a while until we reached the stopping point if you didn't have a guide. This is where we donned our fancy shmancy wet suits. Then the fun began! We entered the beginning of the gorge. The walls here can be as high as 400 metres. We were told the canyoning trips usually don't entail excessive amounts of water, usually ankle deep. However, it had rained a lot that week so we were about to encounter much more water than we expected. Good thing
Garganta Verde
gorgeous view during our hike down we had those wetsuits because the water was freezing!. The canyoning adventure included rappelling near small waterfalls, LOTS of hiking & scrambling on and around rocks we couldn't see due to the water and even swimming. There was one area that was so narrow we had to go through in a single file line between these tall walls, all while swimming because the water was well over all of our heads. It was so exciting! We had some waterproof disposable cameras. Unfortunately they dont take very good pics in poorly lit areas. So there aren't any photos from when we were deep into the trip.
The next trip we took was to go rock climbing in the San Bartolo area near Tarifa. This was Amy's first time ever rock climbing, indoor or outdoor! The climbing area we chose was called Los Bordillos. The climbs maxed out at about 50 feet and were all top rope. Once you reached the top you could turn around and see the ocean off in the distance. After we spent the day climbing we ventured down to Tarifa. This small town quickly became one of our favorite spots in Spain and we visited it
numerous times. Tarifa is the southernmost tip of Europe. Lots of people think that is Gibraltar. But go look at a map. It's the Straight of Gibraltar that's there, so maybe that's where the confusion comes into play. We felt as though Tarifa had a different vibe. It almost seemed as though we were in Southern California, with all of the board shorts and surf shops. Tarifa is a haven for water sports, namely wind and kite surfing. There is an area near the old fortress where a road juts out and you can stand there with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Meditteranean Sea on the other. And on a clear day you can look across the waters and see the outlines of the mountains in Africa.
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Connie
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It's Like I'm There
I can't tell you how much I love these travel blogs you do. The writing and pictures are wonderful! Miss you! Mom!