New Amigos - New Adventure - Backpacker in Spain

So there we were. Five new friends and their luggage, crammed into a small station wagon. Parked by the beach, in the pouring rain, trying to sleep while the car rocks with the force of ferry-stopping winds.

Welcome to Tariffa, Southern Spain !!

This ridiculous, but of course hilarious in hindsight situation began two weeks before in the Alpuljarras, Andalusia . In my travels I had the luck of house sitting for a week for an English couple. They have a lovely rustic home in a peaceful valley, on the road to Pampaneira. It is a beautiful part of the world, next to the Sierra Nevada , with snow capped mountains, sunshine, almond blossoms and the occasional donkey. I am originally a city girl and here I was taking care of two dogs, two cats and ten chickens. At this point I had no Spanish skills, no car and was a four hour walk along winding cliff edged roads to the nearest sizeable town but I was very pleased to be taking on the challenge.

After six days and numerous conversations with chickens and dogs I realised it was time to leave the valley and head into town. I chose market day, knowing there would be more cars on the road and more people around. In a small Spanish town where everything shuts for siesta and not much seems to bother to open again, market day is the most happening time. So I climbed up the mountain path to the main road and began hitch hiking into town in search of some conversation!

There are a lot of internationals in the area, so it was no surprise that the car that finally pulled over was driven by a Dutch guy (with Croatian and English passengers!) And this is where the strange new alliance begins. When they found out I was an Australian girl travelling alone they got excited. "We have just made friends with other Aussie travellers. We just let them out of the car up the road, and that's why we had space to pick you up! You should come and meet them in town"

So we all met for Moroccan tea at a local café. Four Australian girls and one Dutch boy. I was very excited to be talking in English to real life people (as opposed to chickens or on the telephone) so I'm sure I was a bit strange after my week of isolation. But new friendships were formed regardless and we had a nice time bonding over our experiences of travelling in Europe .

We are all very different people who might not usually meet, but being open to new people and experiences is all part of the joy of travelling alone! We realised we had a lot in common after all - we all had hardly any money, loved the mountains, and enjoyed travel - so we decided to stick together for a while. We went camping, and had some adventures at the local bar and even got invited to a local fiesta. After a particularly cold few nights camping though, we decided the mountains were too cold - "Let's go to the beach!" So, with our near empty wallets, and our Dutch friends´ car stuffed to the gills, it was off to the coast to Tariffa and maybe even Morocco !

We hoped to leave the cold and rain behind us, but it soon became apparent that this would not be the case. Grey clouds loomed, and as we reached the small coastal city of Malaga , the sky rumbled with thunder and the rain began bucketing down. Gone were our plans of the ultimate budget holiday, sleeping on the beach, picnics on the sand and general good times. Gone was the light heartedness of this new group and irritability was setting in.

Then one of my companions had an idea- "I have a friend here in Malaga ...he's Spanish.maybe we can stay at the apartment for the night!"

Despite the fact there were five of us, we were warmly welcomed to stay at a young student household. We were so relieved to have free accommodation out of the rain, and the chance to wait for a change in the weather. We all just managed to squeeze onto the floor space and the sofa of the living room to sleep for the night. Poor Paco, the Spanish friend, had trouble getting through to his own kitchen, but he was happy to meet our strange mix of backpackers/traveller/hippy/worker. We sang songs and then listened happily to the rain on the roof as we lay dry and comfortable (well sort of!) inside.

The next day, there was no sign of the storm stopping. We pushed ahead anyway to Tariffa, hoping it might clear, and making a back up plan to head straight to Morocco and south towards warmer weather. So we arrived at the town, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic and kite-surfers flock to make use of the famous strong winds, only to find that the ferries were cancelled due to the weather!

There was much bickering and stressful moments, as we tried to plan for ourselves and get organised. We spent hours of the evening in a pizzeria, occasionally ordering something so they wouldn't throw us out. Playing cards, games, anything to pass the time. Followed by a great night's sleep crammed and cramped and sleeping upright as torrential rains threatened to wash the car into the sea! Aahh! What better way to get to know your new travelling buddies!

Needless to say, after the whole experience the group dynamic was getting a bit tricky. Five people stuck together for at least 48 hours..it can bring out the best and worst! While some went on to wait for the ferry to Morocco , some of us visited friends at a campsite and tried to stay out of the rain. The group went separate ways with mixed feelings, but now that some weeks have passed we are all in email contact again and able to see the funny side. Things didn't exactly go as planned.but this of course is the nature of adventure!!

> Home Page

> DESTINATIONS

> SOLO TRAVEL TIPS

> BUDGET TRAVEL

> SOLO TRAVEL IDEAS

> ALL ARTICLES