Tarifa Walkabout

Saturday, 15 Apr 2023

Murielle walks 15 km from our finca to El Morche, almost always along the beaches.

Aline walked in Nerja along the beautiful beaches, then she went by bus to El Morche and now she enjoys the beach in El Morche.

I go by bicycle to El Morche. There I make music in a church service and lead a choir. Afterwards we 3 have a lift to Estepona. From there we take a bus to Algeciras. There we meet 2 fellow hikers and start hiking.

Sunday

We stayed on top of a hill overlooking Gibraltar.

"Don't forget your sandals," Murielle told me, seeing a sandal hidden a little among the herbs. But it is not my sandal - apparently someone had stayed here before us.

This wall was built in 1942 during the Spanish War to camouflage tank movements. The sign board is beautiful but short. But good enough to find more in internet: Las Pantallas

Murielle can't make it higher. But she chose an unfavorable spot.

We asked if we could buy cheese directly from the shepherd here. But the shepherd only has young animals at the moment.

So let's take the goats as an example . . . Murielle especially likes to eat these leaves of the vetch peas.

It looks like a volcanic eruption - but it's just a cloud.

The splendor of the spring blossoms is impressive . . .

. . .as well as the rock formations.

We follow the GR-92.

Amazing rock formations in the sea.

This cow has been lying here for a long time.

Monday

We visit the eco community "El Molino" and sleep there.

The community is close to Guadamesí, the starting point of this trail.

Torre de Guadalmesí

Some times we see old military buildings on the way.

It's windy. We make our breaks at protected places.

There are many snails there.

We are wondering if this is the edible plant that Ishmaelle showed us on the Cherimoya Walk. The taste of the stem is good.

"Tarifa ( . . .) is a city that is committed to healthy habits, physical exercise and a healthy life. It is in a natural setting where one of the healthy routes created by the Thao Foundation and DKV Seguros is located, aimed at carrying out of moderate physical activity within a familiar and healthy environment"

In Tarifa we use our smartphones to look for alternative hiking routes and discuss for a long time. Because the wind has gotten strong.

We hike 4 km near the Atlantic coast, come back, take a bus to Algeciras and drive with the car of the both French hikers a few km inland . . .

Tuesday

We slept close to the car and close to the village Almoraima.

We visit the "Castillo de Castellar"

It's an area with grain fields. Here we walk on the side of a wheat field, to take a shortcut. One of the little adventures that we love.

Wednesday

Our sleeping place. In the morning I show how to build up a tarp in case of rain in the night

We are on the "Vía Serrana", a Camino de Santiago . . .

. . .leading to Los Angeles . . . No worries, we're still on the right track.

A few kilometers further our path becomes bushy and has many thistles.  I'm wearing sandals here.

Thursday

We slept on top of a hill . . .

. . .on top of this hill. It's a large cow pasture. They are already inspecting our sleeping quarters. To be sure not to harm them, we've put the banana peels in tight bushes.

Isabelle has a little damage in her foot. Sometimes someone of us is walking (and talking . . .) with her, othertimes she is the last one. She's ok with it.

Purple: thistles
Blue: Convolvulus tricolor
Light yellow: wild mustard
Yellow: related to dandelion
Red: no idea

A field full of wild mustard flowers

After getting drinking water, we are ready to take the left path.  It's pacing a bit.  But we avoid 700m of road with car traffic.

An old plane tree.  From here, Murielle and I will go to the coast alone.  The others go 10km another way to the car.

Cows in an orange plantation.  They keep the herbs under the trees short.

Next to it is an abandoned orange plantation.  I get through the blackberries barefoot . . .

. . .and make myself comfortable in the tree.  The oranges are delicious!

There are already flowers for the Oranges of the next season . . .

. . . and here the young fruits appear.

This Orange was eaten by an animal.  It tastes even better.

After eating many Oranges, Murielle needs a break like you can see 😋

Friday

Our sleeping place. A few cows pass by, but they are very shy.

I walked the whole hike barefoot except for 500m at the thistles.  Now my feet are a bit more sensitive to stones on the path, but it's still ok.

In Guadiaro, we can't go over a bridge that Osmand recommended to us.  After a wrong turn we end up in a garden nursery.  To get out, we crawl under this gate.

this fruit is new for me. I try a little bit cautiously. It tastes good. What could it be?

In the habour of Guadiaro

We are walking along the beaches now.

The sand is solid here - that's perfect!

After a difficult descent from this rock we see a face in the rock.  Either it kisses me with a smile or it wants to eat me, depending on where you see the mouth.

Gibraltar is still visible.

Overnight at the beach close to the bus station of Estepona. Next day we go home by bus.