Kite boarding at Playa de los Lances

If you don’t know the beaches to the west of Tarifa let me explain. Known as Playa de Los Lances it’s a Mecca for kiteboarders and windsurfers, drawing surf dudes and dudettes from all over the world to its 7km long sandy beach. If you take a quick walk through the car parks behind the dunes you’ll see rows of camper vans with number plates and flags from the UK, Europe, Australia and the States. It’s cool, it’s laid-back and life is good.

The main reason that Tarifa is great for surfing is the wind! Staring out towards the Atlantic Ocean the wind is reliable and true – and it blows straight up the beach on most days of the week, and with this wind comes Atlantic swell and waves. Waves that started their life on the east coast of America and  which have rolled uninterrupted all the way to Tarifa. Add in some warm sunshine and the Bohemian lifestyle of Tarifa and you have the perfect home for kiteboarders.

I never get tired of this area of Andalucía. The light, the weather, the food, the ever-changing views – it’s a fabulous part of the world and only an hour’s drive from Gibraltar. If you arrive at Gibraltar airport and turn right you head straight into the crowded tourist resorts of Estepona, Marbella and Torremolinos. Turn left out of Gibraltar and you’re straight in to some of the most wonderful, unspoilt countryside in Europe. I always turn left.

Please check this photo on Flickr.

I’ve recently put a photography website together with my photos at www.scarlettiger.co.uk – thanks for looking!