This morning the weather is a little overcast. The sun will not show itself until late. Bad weather is forecast for the next few days in Spain. There is even talk of snow. - I do not want to believe this, because I am standing here with shorts. We make ourselves first of all a coffee and consider what lies today. It is probably first of all big wash announced. - Both for our clothes, as well as for our bedding and last but not least for us. (Note from Torgit: Joker, there are severe weather warnings for Spain with storm and heavy rain and my husband is talking about bad weather. The snow line in Alicante drops to 60m).

So fahren wir in Richtung Tarifa. Ein Tankstellen Pächter hat dort ein pfiffiges Konzept. Die klassische Tankstelle wurde um einen Waschsalon, sowie Duschen ergänzt. – Für „nur“ fünf Euro, kann man hier eine ganze Viertelstunde duschen. – Man sollte nur tunlichst beachten, dass die Duschzeit von – bis Schlüsselübergabe zählt. So geht es nicht gemütlich, dafür sind die Duschen wunderbar heiß und sauber. – Falls jemand Tankstelle, Waschsalon oder Dusche sucht, findet er Selbige schräg gegenüber dem Lidl. (Anm. von Torgit: Blöd ist, wenn dann die Türe der Dusche klemmt, denn das geht von der Zeit ab)

At the gas station we meet Lena and Sascha - they are on a big tour with an old Mercedes L 710, nicknamed Emma. We find the crate pretty cool. - Emma seems to be an old life woman, surely she also drinks and smokes. And most of all, she seems to have a thing for freedom fighters. Che can't be overlooked, as it's emblazoned on both driver's doors.

And there is more to see. Next, a T5 and a VW LT arrive, fresh from Morocco. So I can see that Concorde Camper does not always have to mean big and dignified. - Obviously there was also a time on VW LT basis.

When everything is fresh again, we set off to explore the area. Shortly after Tarifa, there is in eastern direction the Estrecho National Park. Although only 3 km from the city, all navigation systems show us a driving distance of more than half an hour. - That must be different or?

Gibt es da nicht eine Abkürzung? – Kurz drauf stehen wir vor einem Warnschild, militärisches Sperrgebiet! – Für mich sieht die Straße ganz passabel aus. Ich schau Torgit an und glaube meinen Ohren nicht zu trauen. Hat sie gerade wirklich gesagt, lass es uns versuchen? Irgendetwas ist passiert, seit dem wir vor knapp vier Monaten gestartet sind. Das ist nicht mehr die Torgit, die ich kenne. Waren ihr Regeln nicht immer wichtig? (Anm. von Torgit: Ja klar, wichtig ist, dass Du die Regeln kennst 😉

No 5 minutes later, we are exactly at the point that would have been reachable only in 35 minutes according to the navi. Besides us, there is an old, yellow T4. The vehicle belongs to a Berlin couple. Or should I say Pankower? - The two are pretty cool. For 40 years they have been on the road with their second home. - The tours have become longer and longer. In the meantime they have reached half-year tours. In the summer, they have to take care of the pergola. And in winter it's surfing time. - We quickly pick up a few tips, because the two have been coming to the area for twenty years.

From up here on the rock you have a beautiful view of Tarifa, across to Africa and the Strait of Gibraltar. Just passed the Hamburg, a huge container ship. -From up here we can see five different large ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar at the same time. - So we enjoy the view of a cow pasture so completely without fence, the strait, the ships and I above all on Africa. - Such a view makes hungry. Time for breakfast and lunch all in one. We realize again and again that there are no fixed times anymore. We eat when we are hungry. (Note from Torgit: I notice that we eat much less than at home. Although I feel like I do less exercise here, I haven't gained any weight. I don't jog here and we don't go to the gym, but we are outside all the time, at the beach or hiking up the mountain for sunrise).

Later we drive a little further along the road. Suddenly it turns into a gravel road. Only a few meters away is an old artillery piece. Around it some cattle are grazing. - The last cow before Africa? - When the artillery is approaching a cow, Hector stands by her. Slaughtering cattle yes, shooting cattle no. - We are not barbarians.

What I find most exciting is that the path is hardly passable from here on. Conclusion: If we had followed the navi, we would probably have come everywhere, but here definitely not. - The wind is getting stronger, it looks like rain. Since we want to explore the coast tomorrow still in western direction, we drive back to our place. There where we have stood also in the last days, we find also today a place for the night.

Speaking of cattle, you can tell that the cattle breeders are on the doorstep here. At Lidl, I discover porterhouse steaks, so beautifully marbled, the kilo for 11.26 €. Where can you get something like that? At Lidl, I don't believe it. - One thing's for sure, the Beefer will be on the next tour. - And what do we have? Torgit makes plantain chips. - It's my own fault, did I have to put that thing in the shopping cart too? (Note from Torgit: Even in our little Bulli kitchen you can conjure up tasty treats. And it's fun to try out new regional dishes on the road).

Insight of the day: To explore new things, you must neither walk nor drive in the footsteps of others.