Morning stroll on the beach, Tarifa

Weeks fly by in El Chorro the climbing scene has climbers from all over Europe  all here for the Spanish weather and great climbing.
Amongst the thunderstorms are many days of good climbing but our bodies are in need of a rest.
We hear about Tarifa near Gibraltar a Mecca for kite surfers but also a beauty spot on the Atlantic coast.

Beautiful and wild beach of Tarifa

I'm all for being by the beach and exploring new places.
Tarifa doesn't disappoint, long sandy beach, wavy Atlantic and fresh sea breeze. No wonder it's a kite surfers and wind surfers winter spot.
Even with some grey clouds the temperature is still warmer than some of our nights in El Chorro.

A cold day in El Chorro

 True to form Robin researchers a climbing crag in the area.. So much for taking a break!

Stunning views in El Chorro

Just before Christmas we have an issue with Stan our van. An auxiliary belt snaps and we lose the power steering.
Our break down service tows Stan to Alicante.
Good news is all repairs are under warranty bad news is it's on a Friday and it will take a few days to get the parts and repair.
We get put up in a hotel and a hire car, after months of living in Stan we both feel like we're cheating a bit.. But this is out of our control and it does coincide with some stormy weather, we watch torrents of water wash down the streets.

We are both happy  to get Stan back and with good weather the climbing can resume.

Now with a Christmas Day climb on Peñon Ifach and a few more around the  Benidorm area it's time to say goodbye and drive to Murcia.

A few days are spent climbing and with the new year upon us we decide to treat ourselves in Los Baños thermal pools and a night in the most relaxed campsite run by a British man.

Rest bite over it's to the lovely Natural Park Sierra Espuña.

All the climbing take about 1 hour to walking through the pine forest.

Another activity we've been looking forward to is skiing in the Sierra Nevada  national park just outside Granada.

This will blow the budget a bit but we've been doing well and most weeks been well under our €200.

It's a fun day skiing but a chilly night spent in Stan in Sierra Nevada national park.

After the coldest night thus so far we're off for warmer environment of El Chorro. 

Neither Robin or I have been to El Chorro before and are pleased to see lakes, forests of pine trees and lost of limestone rock.

This is apparently where all the Brits come for the winter climbing so not surprising seeing van after van with british plates.

It's a no wonder there are so many british here the climbing is top quality and lots in various grades. I finally feel a small improvement in my climbing…. it's only taken about 9 months!  

Weeks fly by in El Chorro as we get into the sport climbing training mode, going back to areas to advance improvement (some more successful than others).
The weather still hits us with periods of rain but that's the beauty of van life, we can sit out the rainy days at the beaches of nearby Malaga and return for those sunny days.