Spain Day Nine: More Rain And Wind So A Day Exploring Tarifa And Not Morocco.

It was my last full day in Tarifa and Spain. I awoke  early Thursday morning. I was hoping to take the ferry and visit Morocco, only 9 miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar. A light rain was falling, so I put on my rain gear and walked over to the ticketing office at the port.

It wasn’t raining hard, and I didn’t think it was too windy so I was surprised and disappointed to learn that neither of the two ferries were sailing to Gibraltar. I wasn’t going to visit Africa on this trip.

The rain continued as I walked along the boats and docks  in the port,

and watched the yellow-legged gulls flying in the cloudy skies.

I then I decided to walk on the trail along the coast before  my breakfast at the hotel. I left the walls of the old city and made my way to the trail on the outskirts of town.

The crashing of the waves ,

and the clouds and mist along the shore made for a mystic  and melancholy scene. 

I met an elderly woman from Germany, a birder, and like me she said she saw almost no bird activity on her  morning walk. I learned from her why I wasn’t seeing all the migratory birds I expected on my visit to southern Spain. We talked and she told me she has been birding Tarifa in the Spring for 20 years and this was the first year the migratory birds were so late. She said the winds and storms were blowing from the west the past few weeks, keeping the birds in Africa. She said this was very unusual.

I continued on the trail which left the shoreline and took me along a into  some woodlands along a stream,

where I heard , and saw a nightingale, only the second one I have seen. The last one was while in Budapest in Hungary.I was dissapointed I did not see many exotic  migratoyr birds on thei trip  so I was glad to see this beautiful bird on this rainy morning.

The trail took me through some pastures before continuing back to the shoreline,where I again enjoyed the crashing of the waves the views of the ocean ,

and Africa across the Mediterranean Sea, where I had hope to be hiking if the ferry was sailing.

The many flowers,including the crown daisies,

and morning glories, I had seen in previous hikes brightened the dreary morning as I walked back to Tarifa.

On the way I watched the yellow -legged sea gulls perched on the walls of the old city,

as the would land and take off into the windy, cloudy skies.

Also near the city walls I found a few field mushrooms growing along the sidewalk.

A light rain still was falling but  I wanted to explore some more of the city.  So I walked up Avenida de la Constitucion in the old city.

I wanted to visit the Tourist Office  to arrange a tour  on  Tarifa Island, and the southernmost point in Europe for later in the afternoon but the office was closed.

I walked  past the Alameda Theater,

where the walls  had this colorful mural.

  I left the old city and walked through some side street. I enjoy roaming aimlessly  through the streets of cities,

observing the local businesses, shops, homes,

and offices.

I walked back into the old  town, past the  theater,

and  found this local market, with a Moroccan  influence.

Inside I found a couple local seafood markets,

with plenty of fresh fish,

crabs,

shrimps and other fresh seafood.

I left the market and walked back to my hotel  finishing my 3 1/2 mile hike and sitting down for another wonderful breakfast.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from my morning hike. Spain Day Nine: Tarifa morning hike. March 20 2025.

It was my last full day in Tarifa.   I begin to pack since I had to have my rental  car back in La Linea at 11:00 a.m. on Friday.  I wanted to get one last hike, and look for some migrating birds, in the morning. The skies cleared in the afternoon, and the sun shining, so after packing and editing some  photos  I was off for another hike on the trail along the shore on the outskirts of Tarifa.

The scenery looked so different with the sunshine and blue skies.

I walked past the residences, and some abandoned structures,  along the shore.

The many wildflowers  blooming along the trail, including the Bermuda buttercups,

and Barbary irises,

attracted butterflies in the afternoon sunshine, including  a speckled wood butterfly

and, what I believe is a  red admiral butterfly. I am not an expert but I believe this is the same species I see in the woodlands near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

I followed the trail through the wetlands, and pastures, and back to the shoreline, where I again enjoyed the crashing of the waves and the views of Africa across the sea.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see many birds, just the yellow legged seagulls flying overhead

and a few lesser backed gulls, the first I saw in Tarifa.

I walked back to town and, near the old city wall,

saw this Eurasian kestrel soaring overhead.  It was a nice 2 mile hike although, I again failed to see the migratory birds I had hoped when I decided to visit southern Spain but I enjoyed seeing a few birds, flowers and  beautiful scenery Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from my  afternoon hike. Spain Day Nine: Tarifa afternoon hike. March 20 2025.

It was late afternoon when I returned to  the hotel. I decided to have my last meal  in Spain here at 7 p.m. This is the earliest the restaurants in open for dinner in Tarifa. I began with some wonderful mussels recommended by the waiter,

and had the the sea bream fish with a pumpkin sauce as my main course. Once again it was delicious.   It was another long day form. In my younger years I would never get tired. Now I do, and I retired early again, reflecting on the wonderful week I had in Tarifa and southern Spain.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

“The world is full of wonderful things you haven’t seen yet. Don’t ever give up on the chance of seeing them.” – J.K. Rowling