Information on the Costa del Sol - Information on Algeciras and Tarifa, Things to do in Algeciras and Tarifa, Restaurants in Algeciras and Tarifa, Nightlife in Algeciras and Tarifa

General information on Tarifa

I’ve always been quite keen on a little ditty from a film called Calamity Jane (1953); It was sung by a bubbly blonde lady, born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati in 1924. Oh alright, Doris Day to you. The song went like this, ‘Ah just blew in from the windy city, the windy city is mighty pretty but it ain’t got what we got no serree’.

So excuse me if I tell you about Spain’s equivalent to Doris’s windy city, here on the southern most tip of Spain is a little town, not quite like Deadwood the wild west town from the film. If you head off south west on the N340 past Gibraltar and Algeciras you will come to the quaint little costal town called Tarifa. Is it windy? You may well ask, depending on the severity of the Poniente blowing from the west that collides with the Levante gusting from the east. If you happen to wear a syrup of fig (wig) make sure you use an extra dollop of super glue to keep your hair on.

Tarifa got its name from Tariq ibn Malik (also known as Tarif ben Maluk) who led a Muslim raid in 710 a year before the main Islamic invasion, the area was thought to have once been a Phoenician and later a Roman settlement, as after every invasion into Spain by the Muslim conquerors castles were built, the one in Tarifa is now called Castillo de Guzmán el Bueno, with it’s superb fortification it was able to defend attacks from Norse, African and pirate raids.

As this area of the straits between Gibraltar and North Africa are extremely narrow, local lords and Pirates were able to operate a toll on ships as they entered or left the Mediterranean, the toll or Tarifa  that had been imposed on ships became known in the English language as a Tariff.

In 1292 after the Reconquista, the local hero Guzmán El Bueno was defending the castle against Islamic forces who were trying to recapture Tarifa. Guzmán or El Bueno as he was known stood on the battlements and threw down his dagger to the Islamic hordes who had kidnapped his son threatening to kill him, telling them to do their worst, which they did with relish,  Guzmán finally lost his defence of the area back to the Muslims, however Tarifa and the rest of Muslim owned territory did not become totally secure until the fall of Algeciras  to the Spanish in 1344, during the 16th and 17th centuries Tarifa was to become the main port when the colonisation of the Americas and Peru began.
Today Tarifa is a colourful town of about 15 thousand inhabitants with wonderful narrow twisting streets so narrow that some of the residence can almost shake hands from their balconies on opposite sides of the street. The Castillo de Guzmán el Bueno, is certainly very Bueno, the entrance is on Calle Guzmán close to the ferry port entrance. The imposing fortress was built in 960 by the Cordoban Caliph Abd ar-Rahman 111, take a walk along the ramparts from the Torre de Guzmán to the Mirador El Estrecho where you can see the magnificent coastline of North Africa just 14 km away, from atop the castle you can also see over the town and the hills behind Tarifa unfortunately covered by hundreds of windmill turbines dotted over the landscape, these have been EU funded and have expanded at an alarming rate looking like invaders from another planet they feed electricity into the Spanish national grid. Tickets for the Castillo are sold in the Estanco opposite the entrance.

The Old town has a distinct charm, entered through The Mudéjar Puerta de Jerez built after the Reconquista at Calle Colón a bustling market gives you a taste of colour and local style, through the streets south that have  changed little since Islamic times you arrive at the main street of the town. Calle Sancho 1V El Bravo here stands the Iglesia de San Mateo mainly a 15th century edifice that captures all the architecture of its time. Nearby is the small municipal Museum.

Tarifa is situated at the most southern end of Spain and Europe and is a Military occupied promontory called Punta de Tarifa, Tarifa can be enjoyed by just a gentle stroll, if the weather is hot the shade in the narrow streets spurs you on to explore even more tangled alleys, La Casa Amarilla (Yellow House) is worth a look and maybe even a stay, the delightful and imaginatively 19th century restored building has a glass vaulted patio, most rooms have their own kitchenette painted in bright colours with Moroccan features.

During the summer months Tarifa becomes the Mecca for young stunning girls, some are competitors, others are girlfriends in itsy tiny bikini’s. They drape themselves around the tanned athletic muscular males, who are the aficionados of windsurfing, Tarifa is one of the top three destinations in Europe with a reputation for strong winds that whip up the surf into huge rollers, sometimes to quite violent speeds, the towns beaches provide some of the action however generally the whole coastline is a surfing paradise, a lovely bay formed by Punta Paloma provides more than enough for the guys and girls to show off their Amphibious skills.

Tarifa has many shops with excellent examples of ethnic style jewellery, and they more than cater for all tastes of new and second hand surfing boards and clothing, competitions are held almost all year round with the World Cup (Formula 42) normally held in July or August. It is very skilful and exhilarating to watch, even if you just want to sit with a cooling drink and glimpse the surfers weaving their spells. Kite surfing is also another colourful and exciting sport that has recently made its mark along the wind swept Tarifa coast.

If you want to take to the water yourself try the boat trips, you can go whale and Dolphin watching several boats are available, some serve drinks and food and the encounters with the charming mammals are often as exciting as the surfers, if you are a bird watcher during the migratory season soaring birds such as vultures, raptors and storks can be seen as they cross between Europe and Africa, if you are slightly more of an energetic type you might enjoy horse riding on the Playa de los Lances. The very aptly named Hurricane hotel and the hotel Dos Mares’ Aventura Ecuestre both rent horses with guides that will take you inland as well as along the beaches, and as for the beaches they are quite excellent, as long as the wind allows. The Playa Chica is quite small and often well sheltered, the spectacular Playa de los Lances stretches about 7 miles and ends at the huge sand dunes that surely would have excited Lawrence of Arabia.

If you intend to stay in Tarifa you can imagine July and August is noisy and crowded and normally fully booked owing to the windsurfing fraternity, and these months are the most expensive time, out of season the prices tend to drop by up to 40%. One of the reasons many people come to Tarifa is to take the fast ferry that runs between Tarifa and Tangier, operated by FRS, for details on sailings call FRS on 956 68 18 30 or call your travel agent, they have varying sailing times depending on the seasons, the journey normally takes around 35 minutes, please check on Passport details as there appears to be some restriction on people that do not have EU passports or Spanish Residence documents, also just do not turn up without a booking, some sailings are completely booked.

As the Ferry set off across the Straits I look back at Tarifa nestled between the sandy beaches and the green landscape dominated by huge swirling arms that churn the air on wind swept hills, I reprise the words to Doris Days song and sing them to myself, “ Ah just blew in from the windy city, the windy city is mighty pretty, but it ain’t got what we got no serree”. Well Tarifa maybe pretty windy at times, maybe not as bad as the mythical windy city of Deadwood, so forget about the wind, Tarifa is a charming laid back town with a lot of character.