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After several days in the wonderful city of Grenada, we headed down the costa del sol (Mediterranean cost)
and back up the costa de la luz (Atlantic coast). On the trip from Grenada to Punta Paloma, we passed
Malaga, and Gibraltar. From about 10 kilometers away driving on N340 we could see the huge rock of Gibraltar
in the distance, but we continued onward passed Algerciras and towards Tarrifa - the Spanish Surf
capital. Punta Paloma is about 10 kilometers further up N340 from Tarrifa and is actually a
military base, but outside of the land the military occupies are several camping locations and all along N340 from
Tarrifa to Conil are hostels, hotels and camp grounds. We rented a
bungalow which had beds for 4, kitchen and bath
for 4500 pesetas a night, about $22. About another 10 kilometers up the road from Punta Paloma is Bolonia, a very
small oceanfront town which is built on the ruins of the Roman town Baelo Claudia which have recently been excavated
and are an awesome sight!
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The first thing we did in Punta Paloma was go horseback riding! Anna used to ride horses
when she was a girl, so she got the hang of pretty well.
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I on the other hand was a little more weary of the large animal... I had only been on a horse
once before when I was about 8 years old, and someone else was holding the horses reins then.
Being in control of the horse myself was a little scary.
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Of course in Punta Paloma the best place to go horseback riding is on the beach,
where you can see Africa in the distance (that large hump in the distance is the
edge of the African continent). If the picture looks a little blurry, that is because
it was taken while riding a horse, of course.
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The ride was quite challenging and lots of fun.
Pedro our Spanish Cowboy leader did not speak
much English, and his instructions in Spanish were very brief.
Here is a picture of Anna climbing up a sand dune, and me on my horse following
behind her.
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Besides climbing sand dunes, we had to negotiate some really rocky beaches. In this picture
you can see Anna paying close attention to where her horse is going. Pedro is on the
white horse in front. In the distance are some people who appeared to be camping on
the beach.
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We did a lot of trotting and even some galloping. At one point I got out of rythym with
my horse while in gallop and I thought I would be tossed, and my butt took a severe beating.
While in a gallop, Anna's horse fully jumped a rock, all four legs off the ground! Here I managed
to make my horse trot fast enough that I could get a picture of Anna from the front. You can see
Pedro behind her, and Africa in the distance!
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Talk about a picture perfect sunset!!
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Between Punta Paloma and Tarrifa is the Dos Mares Hotel... where some of the best
wind-surfers and kite-boarders play all year round. On our first time around this area
the wind was apparently perfect, there are dozens of people wind-surfing or
kite-boarding in these pictures.
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You learn to control the kite on the beach. (this is not me in this picture :-)
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I had to try and give kite-boarding a shot. I found a teacher available on short
notice and we hit this little ocean inlet, where basically in low tide it is its own little pond,
and in high tide it is part of the ocean. We first practiced kit control for 2
hours on the beach, and then
I graduated to body drags, where you basically are kite-boarding without the board, instead
letting yourself be dragged. Sometimes you would be lifted out of the water 10 or so feet and
then lightly dropped back down. The body drags for another 2 hours plus the whole day we were
fighting ever increasing winds. My arms were totally beat, but I wanted to try getting on the board.
I tried a few times, but by the end of the first day I had not really gotten up on the board once.
The day ended because the winds got to strong, and high tide was coming in. Unfortunately the second
day the winds were too strong for lessons, my instructor thought it was
not really wise for us to teach in the super heavy winds, "I might end up half way to Morroco".
I think he just wanted to get out and ride! He gave me 1/2 my money back, and we headed out
of Punta Paloma towards Bolonia for sight seeing...
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Bolonia - we had no idea what to expect from the ruins of the Roman town of Baelo Claudia - and
we were blown away! First the drive up to Bolonia is along a long windy road heading towards the ocean
and is very beautiful. The town is made up of no more than 100 homes, and 3 businesses, plus the national
park which is where the ruins are.
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| Here is Anna standing in what was likely to have been the door way to a tienda (store) |
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Here we are on the stairs to one of the temples which would have served the several hundred
people expected to have inhabitted Baelo Claudia.
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A statue of a Roman authority, maybe even Augustus Caesar...
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More ruins from Baelo Claudia, a shipping port of the Roman Empire....
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