| Málaga – the beginning | |||||
| Day 1 - Leaving Spain | Day 2 - Chefchaouen | Day 3 - Fes | Day 4 - Er Rachidia | Day 5 - Merzouga | Day 6 - Tinghir |
| Day 7 - Aït Benhaddou | Day 8 - Marrakesh | Day 9 - More Marrakesh | Day 10 - Cascades (Ouzoud) | Day 11 - Ifrane | Day 12 - Tarifa |
| Day 13 - Málaga | Day 14 - Torremolinos | Day 15 - Torremolinos-1 | Day 16 - Torremolinos-2 | Day 17 - Caminito del Rei |
May 17th – Friday
Map Link – 130 kms
Tarifa – Malaga
It was a good night’s sleep and, because we didn’t have far to ride this morning, we didn’t have be ready any time soon. At dinner last night we brought up our routing concerns to Hana and David, asking if it was possible to adjust our route. Originally we were to ride up the coast for a little bit, head inland and return to MotoAdventour’s home base in Coín via the mountain roads we came down two weeks ago. What we asked was if we could instead stay on the coast for longer, and then drop inland to limit the mountain roads we’d be on. A little bit of back-and-forth between Hana and David to nail down the details and it was confirmed: we’d stick to the coast.
But first: the most beautiful breakfast buffet I’ve ever seen
With the extra time we had this morning, Dan and I walked back to the shopping area to pick up a few things, and then we explored the hotel’s pool area; I had no idea it was so cool!
Now THAT’S a big plant!
Localized rain squall over the Mediterranean
Sunny to the south (close up of Bunkers de Tarifa)
It was an easy ride out of Tarifa and onto the main roads, but while Tarifa was sunny, the mountain roads leading out were anything but. We pulled over so that we could put on our rain gear, which turned out to be a good idea, as the misty clouds turned into an honest-to-goodness rain. It was glorious!
Damp Dan
Back into the sunshine!
The motorway was fast and we were soon through the bustling port town of Algeciras. I was glad to be avoiding the chaos of the busy city streets; the motorway was fast and easy. No more Moroccan roundabouts or crazy lane changing!
I assumed that once we were on the coastal road it would be a nice, relaxing ride under the palm trees. I was wrong. It was a series of slow, backed-up roads that then slowed down even more as we crawled through each coastal town. This was not at all what I had in mind.
Shoulder-splitting (!) to get around an accident scene
Hana took us on a small detour to actually stop at a beach, but there wasn’t anything there to hold our interest. We were soon back on the main coastal road, slogging along.
I don’t know if Hana sensed our discomfort or she had just reached a good point to leave the coast behind and to head inland to Coín, but that’s what we did. It felt great to be on a fast and flowing road. The group stretched out and the scenery flew by. At this point I was almost careless of photos, but not completely. Here are few from our time in the mountains.
Town of Monda
Quick fuel stop just before hitting Coín
At Coín we parked the bikes – our riding days were over, at least for now. The bags that we had stored here were moved to David’s van, as well as the bags that had traveled with us. Our gear was stowed away as well, and it was with mixed feelings that I handed the keys back to Hana. It had been a good bike, a good trip and great memories, and now I had a new respect for the North African country.
With the bags packed up and a taxi at the gate, we were driven back to the coast, to the Parador de Málaga. Even though we were without two wheels, we still had one more night of the tour together. Our arrival at the Parador was early in the day. We had plenty of time to swim, explore or just relax. Dan and I chose to walk to a nearby mall to see what sort of lunch options we could find. It was an easy walk there, and a nice enough mall, but in the end, it was still just a mall.
Parador de Málaga
View from our room
We were on the approach path to the Málaga Airport (but we didn’t really notice at night)
The associated golf course
Wild parrots on the grounds
Access gate to the water
The Plaza Mayor mall was mostly outside and nicely laid out
After the visit to the mall we returned to the hotel and relaxed on the room’s balcony. There was a nice breeze and I read my book for the remainder of the afternoon. Tonight we’d get a taxi and have our last dinner together. It was going to be a surprise, because Hana and David chose a place that they had only heard good things about, but had never been.
Carnes a la Brasa – so new, they don’t have a website I could find!
Oh la la!
The service and meal were quite good, and we recommended that they could safely add this restaurant to their list of options on future tours. It was a little bitter-sweet, as this would be our last meal together. While we were all staying at the Parador tonight, in the morning we’d each head our separate ways.