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Published: July 23rd 2006
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The Main Gate
Welcome to Tarifa Old Town. "...I composed my self and made a noticeably lower pitched yell, partly to frighten it and partly to reaffirm that my manhood was still in place."
This is a small excerpt from my journal during my 3 weeks on the Costa Del Sol in southern Spain. The "it" in this instance was a medium sized orange dog (named Eddie) that came out of the shadows of a construction site, darting straight for me with his meatless ribs casting shadows on his fur under the orange glow of the halogen street light. The whole incident would have been quite embarrassing had anyone been around to laugh at me. As it turns out, it merely became the only time I expended any energy whatsoever in Spain.
As a whole, spending time between Marbella and Tarifa was incredibly relxaing. It was not the adventure packed experience I hope for in later travel, but it was hard to beat for relaxation. (especially when you have a parent "sponsoring" you. thanks Dad!) A quick recollection of some of the towns I visited:
Marbella (including Puerto Banus): Marbella is a very expensive little town famous for attracting the rich and famous international
Tarifa
A nice windy day in Tarifa. Tarifa is the southern most point of Spain where the Med and Atlantic collide. So it is reknowned for its wind and kite surfing. yachting crowd. I spend a Sunday day lying around a pool with live international DJs, NY priced drinks, NY priced topless women dancing on the lifeguard chairs and lounges, and a beautiful view of the beach and ocean. Later that night I watched the Italians win the World Cup and joined in with the celebrations with an Italian flag drawn on my neck, waving Italian flags, yelling "F#*k the French" (in Italian of course), and holding the invisible cape for the many Zidane impersonators to run through head first, with fingers as horns. (you see, Zidane head butted a player in the last minutes, and possibly lost the world cup for the French, so the Italians quickly and appropriately labeled him "El Toro".) Hilarious!
Alcaidesa: Alcadeisa was our home base for week 2 and 3. Alcaidesa is a resort development with golf course, built by Russian mobmen who are currently being sued by homeowners, etc. So, basically, a typical Costa Del Sol development. The beach was beautiful and stretched all the way to Gibraltar to the southwest (about a 2 hour walk at my pace.) Although all Spanish beaches are essentially topless by nature, it would appear that the
Adorable Tarifa.
A quaint little white vespa in front of a quaint little white wall on a quaint little (shade of) white street. And if you think that is just TOO damn cute, you should have seen the adorable little girl in a quaint white summerdress come outside to play on it. northeast part of this beach takes it one step further. Can you say pale overweight Germans? I enjoyed the little beach side bar cafe 'Arena' and had my share of Cruzcampos and Tinto de Veranos here. My spanish was insufficient as was the english of the cute waitresses. ***PUBLIC SERVICE ANOUNCEMENT: Fathers, send your sons to language classses! Kids, stay in school.***
Tarifa: Although unplanned, I spent about 3 days in Tarifa while I made plans for my RTW. (I will leave my rant about air line companies for my personal journal.) Tarifa was a cool, funky town with a lot of young travellers and 'hippie' types. Renowned for its wind, the kite and wind surfing is the biggest draw. (Tarifa is the southernmost point of Europe and is where the Med and Atlantic meet.) I stayed at the Hostel Africa which I would recommend to anyone. I found a great resaurant and hotel called La Sacristia that turns out to be in the Hip Hotel book series, Beach edition. As I sat down with an espresso and absorbed the beautiful design and art of the place, I found myself chatting with the owner of the place. He was
Cute Tarifa
Looking through a peep hole into a courtyard a woman was fixing up the walls and hanging pots of flowers. Can you say "Under the Tarifan Sun." a very nice guy and very interesting. He had lived all over the world, had over 10 siblings, created many kinds of art, acted in Italian cinema, etc, etc. The restaurant had an interesting history of its own. Inside you can see remnants of a gate to the old city which eventually expanded out, wood beams left over from the time the Moors had stables there, and large round stone holes under the glass floor where the Romans rested huge pots where they made their olive oil. And with all that, La Sacrisitia was not outmatched. I decided to go back for dinner. When I arrived, the owner, Miguel asked me to join him. We ate some sushi, some monkfish, salad, wine, sorbet, and apertif. I can not do it justice so I will simply say it was a fantastic meal I enjoyed very much. Afterwards he showed me some of the more interesting clubs in Tarifa that still showed historical signs, such as the old salt storage building which still had roman columns encrusted in salt, or the old main gate that was now an italian restaurant. Upon leaving I had the feeling that Miguel was a little disappointed
Modern Tarifa
This is about as modern as it gets in Tarifa. This was the view from Hostal Africa where I spent some time sipping on sangria, reading, and napping. Life is just the kind of difficult I like in Tarifa. that I was not interesting in having a few drinks with him. Sorry Miguel, best of luck with the next tourist! I used my last night to take some photos and get packed up for the next leg of my journey...Morocco!
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Mom
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Don't smoke!
Pete, can't wait to hear more!