After Cadiz: Down The Coast To Tarifa

After we left the chaos and noise of Carnaval de Cadiz, we hopped back in the car and headed south towards Tarifa, the southernmost point on the Iberian peninsula. On the way to Tarifa we stopped in a beautiful little beachside village called Los Caños de Meca. We parked the car and walked out onto the beach for a bit of rest from driving. The beach was really beautiful and we took a bunch of photos before getting back into the car to finish the drive south. Just before we reached Tarifa we stopped again near a cliff in a forest that overlooked the town of Zahara de los Atunes. We walked down a trail towards the beach and found an old World War II turret bunker overlooking the water. It was in pretty good shape, and we could go into it, but it looked disgusting inside so we didn't go in. Tarifa is a really, really windy town. Windsurfing and kitesurfing shops line the main drag since so many people go there to catch waves.


Painted rowboat on the beach in Los Caños de Meca


World War II bunker overlooking the water near Zahara de Los Atunes

We checked into the hotel and took a much needed nap. After our nap we took a stroll through the old part of town to the port where a huge ferry that travels between Tarifa and Tangier, Morocco was docked. From Tarifa, Africa is only 8 km across the strait of Gibraltar, close enough to see. We took a bunch of photos of the water with Africa in the background. Afterward we walked back into town to sit in a cafe near a nice church and have coffee and tapas. The tapas were really good, one that everyone liked was squid fried in it's ink. Different. We decided since there wasn't really much nightlife in Tarifa we would call it an early night.


Puerta de Jerez in Tarifa


The ferry to Tangier


Cadiz by day

In the morning we headed back north to Cadiz to see the town during the day since the three people I was with hadn't seen Cadiz before Carnaval. It was the second day after Carnaval and people were still sweeping up. The streets smelled like bleach, which was probably a good idea after the huge party with no bathrooms. We took a couple hours to check out the town and walk around the perimeter of the old port town. We went to some of the cooler parts of the city I could remember and again we took a bunch of photos before heading back to the car.

Angela and Eric had to get the rental car back to Madrid that day, so they dropped me off at the bus station in Jerez de la Frontera where I could catch a bus to Chipiona to spend the second weekend of Carnaval.

Carnaval de Cadiz!

In February we had two days for vacation for Carnaval. Since they were a Monday and a Tuesday, I asked my school for the other two days off. No sense in coming back to Don Benito for two days when I can instead make my vacation five days longer right?

My friend Aleksis, his girlfriend Angela, his friend Eric living in Madrid, Aleksis' hedgehog and I rented a car and headed down to Cadiz for the festivities. We were a little late since Angela and Eric had to rent the car in Madrid in the morning and drive down to Don Benito to pick us up. We didn't leave Don Benito until around 5 pm and arrived in Cadiz around 9. Finally we were here and I was ready to run out of the parking garage in El Puerto de Santa Maria. Then Aleksis told me they still had to make their costumes. Ugh. An hour later we finally set off to find a bite to eat and catch the train into Cadiz. We didn't even attempt to park in Cadiz and I'm glad we didn't.

The train station from El Puerto started filling up fast with people in costumes and being a mostly Spanish crowd, they started drinking right there on the platform. The train was pretty packed heading into Cadiz and it was pretty weird being on a train with people in costumes.


The group in our costumes, I was an old man.

Walking out of the train station and into downtown Cadiz was surreal. So many people in costumes and so many things to look at. By 10 or so people were already getting pretty rambunctious and the party was just getting started. It was really easy to get lost among the crowd but luckily Aleksis and his friend were both taller than 6'5". We wandered around Cadiz making friends and memories until well past six in the morning and then headed back to the train station.


The scene in just one of Cadiz's plazas during Carnaval

Before we left I decided to stay with a different ground of friends that I knew from Caceres since the guys I came with were cold by the ocean wall in their basketball jerseys. I couldn't find my way back to the plaza where they were waiting for the life of me, so they told me to meet them at the train station. I followed the pack to the station, but somehow went left when I should have went right and was isolated from the train station by the wall around the train tracks. I decided to just keep walking instead of backtrack 20 minutes. I ended up walking so far that I got to the next station and caught the train there. Everything worked out in the end, but man that walk was long.

We headed back to the car in the parking garage and decided to sleep for a few hours before we headed south. We didn't have accomodations in Cadiz because everything was booked well beforehand. After a short nap we headed out in search of food in El Puerto. Walking around in Spain is always a treat and El Puerto is no exception. We stumbled upon a beautiful old church with a cool plaza next to it. The Spanish did it right.


An old church in El Puerto de Santa Maria



Plaza in El Puerto de Santa Maria

After food we started up the car and headed south down the coast towards Tarifa...