We took the long way home, first heading west through the south of Spain to Conil de la Frontera, then through the Algarve in the south of Portugal and north to Lisbon.   Why stop in Conil de la Frontera you may ask?

ANSWER:  “It has six beaches: La Fontanilla Beach, El Roqueo Beach (with a 1936 Civil War bunker), Fuente del Gallo Beach, Punta Lejos Beach, Cala del Aceite Beach and Los Bateles Beach. Playa los Bateles is the longest and the most popular in the summer. Conil de la Frontera is primarily a vacation town and the majority of the tourists are Spanish although you often also hear German as well in town.” (Wikipedia)

In addition, we arranged to spend a weekend in Conil with some American friends before we all went our separate ways.  We visited the beaches, we spent an afternoon in the pueblo blanco Vejer de la Frontera, and some of us climbed a tree.

Our separate way led along the A-48, skirting Cádiz {see “Cádiz,” posted October, 2015}, Jerez de la Frontera, and Sevilla {see “Sevilla,” posted December 2015}. {Note for lovers of Sherry:  “Sherry can only be made in one place, the area lying between Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa María and San Lucar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz, the so called Sherry Triangle. The secret is the combination of soil (the chalky, crumbly, moisture-retaining albariza), the damp climate which encourages the growth of the flor (a coat of yeast that forms on the aging wine and prevents it from oxidising) and the solera system used to blend the different vintages“ {see the website andalucia.com}.

At the junction to Sevilla we took a sharp left on to the A 49 and made our way west to the Rio Guadiana, demarcating Spain and Portugal.  

Don’t forget to order the gamba a la plancha in Ayamonte.

QUESTION:    Why did we skip the tourist-saturated south coast Portuguese towns of Lagos, Praia da Rocha, and Albufeira, you are wondering? 

ANSWER:  So that we could explore the wild weeds and sandy plots of the hidden west coast gem, Carrapateira!

The name of the street where we stayed. (Bakers Street)

Pensão das Dunas: where we stayed.

It kept getting lovelier.

In the morning, breakfast was served here.

You could also prepare meals in your suite.

A weedy, sandy plot of Carrapateira.

An important object was trapped there.

An attempt was made.

And another.

Many attempts were made.

Until the final one,

which proved successful.

We celebrated later at a local café.

Our neighbor in Granada, Antonio, had promised us that Carrapateira was worth the long drive and the isolated feel.  He was right.  The village was part of a protected nature area so there were no high rises or hordes of tourists or golf courses or disco bars.  (If those are the sorts of things you are interested in, we suggest you visit Lagos or Praia da Rocha or Albufeira.)

The Portuguese people whom we met spoke English — and Portuguese — and usually Spanish, along with one or two other languages.  When you went to a café you didn’t have to order ham.  Mostly, we went to the beach.

It was an easy walk from Pensäo das Dunas to the beach at Carrapateira.

You crested a small hill.

Crossed the tidal river,

or stayed to play in it.

And pretty much had the beach to yourself.

Other beach goers are outside the frame of this photograph.

Our worst sandcastle.

In addition to the beach at Carrapateira, we also made our way to Praia de Odeceixe, Sagres, Salema and a hidden beach situated somewhere off the N125  that requires a 1.5 kilometer walk in through a dirt path traversing a coastal woodland and that’s all I’m going to say about it.  (Except that it was incrível!)

QUESTION:  Why do these people look so happy?

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ANSWER:  Because for a particular moment in time, they are.