Southernmost Europe

From the Bay of Cádiz we head inland toward the southernmost tip of mainland Europe. At Tarifa we stand on the beach and look at Morocco — the African coast is just 14 kilometres away. The wind howls, the waves roar, and the realisation is overwhelming: we walked here.

Then the route turns inland. We walk through endless cork oak forests where the stripped tree trunks glow blood-red in the morning light. We sleep in a castle turned hotel, wander through white villages stuck like sugar cubes against the mountainsides, and complete our longest day yet: 37 kilometres to Ubrique, the leather capital of Andalusia.

This is the Spain you won't find in travel guides. No tourists, no crowds — just us, the birds, and the endless green hills.