We got up. Got dressed. Got packed. Stored our luggage in our hostel closet and went out for a morning on the town in Tarifa.
Our first order of business was to obtain some food at La Tarifeña, a Rick Steves-recommended pastry shop located a few blocks from our hostel. Emmie and Noah ordered donuts, chocolate and plain, respectively. Brian partook of a glazed croissant, GeeGee enjoyed a chocolate eclair and a mini cherry cheesecake cup, and I had a piece of chocolate almond bread that I didn’t plan to share. Eilidh had other plans, decided it was delicious, and ate close to half of the generously-sized portion. Everyone gave the bakery two thumbs up!
It was with much excitement that we discovered that the store next door sold Fjällräven backpacks as we have been planning to replace Eilidh’s mini Fjällräven backpack (which we purchased during last year’s Europe trip) with a larger pack. Unfortunately, they didn’t have our preferred purple color, so we skipped the backpack purchase, and shifted focus to their shoe selection.
We did find a pair of Birkenstock sandals that Emmie loved. The purchase was easy to justify, as the Keens she’d brought for the trip had grown too small, and she liked the idea of having the same brand of sandals as Grandma Mac. We also found a cool pink pair of shoes for Eilidh, which were made in Spain!
After some more walking, a few more shops, a souvenir purchase by GeeGee, and a stop at the churro stand, the kids burned off some energy at the local park. We found a pharmacy where we were able to weigh Eilidh for a mere 20 cents, and she came in at an exciting 12.8 kilograms!
Noah and Emmie sit on a window sill along one of Tarifa’s cute streets.
A quick stop at the Tarifa Public Market yielded a lunch of jamón ibérico, salami, green olives, potato chips, manchego cheese, fresh cherries, and water. We returned to the hostel and retreated to the rooftop sunroom where we all joined in a picnic-style lunch. We collected our luggage and again lugged it through the cobblestone streets, back to the parked car to set off for our next destination: El Merendero, an old Spanish farmhouse located a few kilometers outside of Spain’s biggest whitewashed hill town of Ronda.
Colorful fish at the Tarifa Public Market.
Noah poses in front of the shop in the market where we purchased jamón ibérico.
Eilidh did some reading after finishing her lunch.
Between Tarifa and Ronda, we stopped by Valdevaqueros Beach. The kitesurfing beach was crowded, so we made it a relatively quick stop.
When we arrived at the farmhouse we were greeted by the owner, Manuel, who provided a very thorough orientation to the farmhouse and its various amenities. Those included the bunny pen, the chicken coop, the outdoor BBQ and dining area, the pool, and the house itself. While small, the home featured three tiny, but functional, bedrooms, a well-equipped kitchen, a living area, and a bathroom. Because Manuel only spoke a few words in English, and we can speak even less Spanish, the orientation was an interesting experience and included a lot of hand gestures.
We do feel we understood much of what he was saying, however, and we were able to put the information to good use when Brian took the recommended route to the recommended supermarket. While Brian was shopping, the kids and I loved the super-convenient (but pretty cold) pool, and, when he returned, we all enjoyed another picnic spread at our outdoor dining area.
When our late evening dinner was finished, we got kids to bed then kicked back and worked on the blog for our faithful readers.