For the past 3 weeks I´ve been living just outside of Tarifa, the land of sun, wind, and hashish. The deal was pretty sweet; I do a few hours of work for the family I´m staying with per day (painting, mowing lawns, killing rats etc) and in return they give me a place to sleep and feed me. I was juggled between two awesome neighbouring families who live about 20 minutes out of Tarifa, in the infamous ¨campo¨ (campo = the country, ie. not the city). While it was pretty isolated, it was extremely beautiful, and nice to have a bit of space. Ok, a lot of space. During my time in the campo I learnt and adopted the mantra ¨mañana, mañana¨, like everyone else in Spain. Basically this entailed putting off everything until tomorrow, and having siestas all the time. Unsurprisingly, I didn´t get a lot done, and I recommend you don´t adopt this way of life, particularly if you´re studying. Seriously though, I can´t thank Marion, Susi and their families enough for letting me into their homes, showing me round Tarifa, and letting me eat their food. Muchísimas gracias!
I did also manage to spend a few nights in Tarifa itself, which was rockin´. For those who don´t know where Tarifa is, here´s a quick geography lesson (c´mon, it´s actually pretty interesting): It is in Andalucía, on the southern coast of Spain. It´s the southernmost point of Europe, the closest European point to Africa (only 14km across to Tangier in Morocco!), and it separates the Atlantic from the Mediterranean. The town is pretty nice, particularly the old part which is heavily Moroccan themed from when the Moroccans hung out there back in the day (like, 600 years years ago). It´s impossible to talk about Tarifa without mentioning the wind sports - due to its location it gets bucketloads of wind, making it a haven for kitesurfers and windsurfers. One of the big regrets is not having the resources/money to learn how to kitesurf, ´cos ay caramba it looks fun! All the cool kids are doing it.
Marion's Casa: Amazing views, awesome company from her sons Monty and Robin, and an abundance of rats needing to be killed.
Susi's Casa: Great banter with Pete the ex-British Marine, a lot of chickens, and the adorable twins Luna and Sol.
The view of Tarifa from where I was staying, Morocco in the background.
A typical Spanish worker taking time out of his busy schedule to pose for the camera.
Keeping an eye on the Strait of Gibraltar from the top of the hill, ensuring no illicit smuggling is going on. There were some fairly impressive cliffs about, with plenty of rock climbing opportunities. If only I had the right equipment...
Lots of wind + lots of sand = big sand dunes!
Lots of wind + lots of crazy folk = kitesurfing!
Taking a quick dip in the Atlantic.
The southernmost point of Europe. Standing there gave me an immense sense of geographical satisfaction.
Dayum, that Atlantic Ocean sure knows how to summon a storm!
Plaza Santa Maria in the old part of Tarifa.
A rare windless day in Tarifa. Look how close Africa is! If I knew how to swim, a day trip to Morocco would have been a piece of pie.
Roman ruins! Everyone loves Roman ruins. It's frustrating when you have to pay to see stuff like this, luckily this place was free for people who could crawl under the fence.
And, because sunsets from the edge of Europe are beautiful and no two of them were the same....
Next time: Hanging out in and around Barcelona for a couple of weeks before meeting up again with Phoebe!
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