We met up with Phillip and Christie in Algecerias as planned and we would end up sticking around for a couple of days to get another inverter and I had to do my taxes. Ratha served a steak and mashed potato dinner topped with a fresh mushroom sauce with red wine. We were jacked to get decent affordable wine again and stocked up on alcohol compliments of Brian Leadingham. 9 bottles of red, 8 beers and a good bottle of scotch will be thoroughly enjoyed. Phillip is a German national who looks quite similar to Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones and Christie is an American who speaks fluent German and whips up some tasty cuisine. Together they have traveled for an extended period of time in three different vans. We linked up and went to Tarifa, Spain, where we did a little rock climbing before the clouds and high humidity rolled in and made the rocks damp. To our pleasant surprise, we awoke to find ourselves surrounded in big happy cows with bells ringing from their necks. The coast was rugged and lush and the climbing spot overlooked Tarifa and it’s nice sandy beach. The weather prevented some amazing photos from being taken that day, though still a nice sight. We had a small chat with some Spanish travelers that morning and found that it was the last day of the week long fair (La feria) in Seville which they recommended we get to. This encouraged us to get to Seville that night. Phillip and Christie had a flat tire before enroute and we had not yet arrived to Cadiz. We went ahead as they would have to drive slowly and search for a replacement for one of their 6 tires. La feria was similar to an annual state or county fair in the States, but additionally had an enormous area with wall to wall bars. I would guess there were around 1,000 but it’s hard to be sure. They were about the dimensions of two shipping containers attached end to end and ranged from one to three containers wide. All of the larger tents had stages for dancing. Throughout the city there were women of all ages dressed in flamenco dresses and a good number of the men were wearing nice cloths, maybe a blazer and a tie. We missed the huge party as we arrived in just the last few hours of the last day on a Sunday night. That being said, there were still a few lively tents scattered amongst those that were closing up shop. We decided to take a stroll around Cadiz earlier that day and glad we did. We had our first beer in over three months in the middle of an old square with a view of a very old church. The beer was icy cold and refreshing. You have been missed.
We were in search for a place to park late that night and ended up deciding on the edge of the Carre F
our parking lot as our brakes seemed to go out while driving around looking for a spot. Getting up the next day to get fluid did not help and our same brake that gave us trouble early on, was leaking again. We were hit with a huge stroke of luck as Phillip and Christie were on their way to help us. Phillip is a mechanic and had a boat load of tools. The brake fluid had again leaked from an o-ring in the cylinder. This was not the ring we replaced in Spain. After biking around in search of some shops we found the part we needed and Phillip put the new ring in. The brake pads were wet, but had not shattered like that had before so we did not have to take apart the mouse trap of a system that are the drum brakes. We were very thankful for them taking their time and making sure our brakes were back to normal. They were very generous with that and also with their food. We took them out for beer and tapas and stumbled upon the oldest bar in Spain that had amazing food. We shared three plates and my personal favorite was boar’s cheek that melted in your mouth like butter. We should have stayed there as we discovered nearly all the bars were closed down on that Tuesday night and the food could not have been better than the first place we stopped. We explored Seville together by bike and on foot, and entered an impressive gothic cathedral/museum which I believe is the largest gothic church in Europe. The second day we came back from the city, we realized someone had broken into their van. They had broken the window and rummaged through their things, leaving behind expensive electronics and instead making off with a suitcase filled with Christie’s clothing. Their dog was uninjured which was a relief and they had not broken into Mac. We decided to stay with them another night and have dinner together before leaving the next morning. We said our goodbyes and headed to Portugal. Our time is now cut a bit short and we have more or less 2 weeks here before we need to exit
.
The weather is just becoming sunny for the first time in a week and really affects the look and feel of the beautiful coastline. There are nice beaches, a good surf, and some cool cliffs that we have seen so far. We stopped and stayed in Tavira, Lagos and Sagres so far. Free camping everywhere in Portugal so far.
Vantastic Voyage 