Tarifa, Bolonia ...

Even house sitters need holidays and since previous caretakers of the Casa, Vicky and Steve, are over for a week, this one is wandering round the bend to the Atlantic coast, the rather hip Tarifa, home of surfers, and the quieter and very beautiful Bolonia ... both visited before in another life and fondly remembered ...

The Disco is staying home and it's a 9am start for the bus to San Roque, a brief wait for Algeciras, where it is really warming up .... 30 something degrees ... and an hour and a half for the last leg ...

The Melting Pot hostel in Tarifa is a cool return to the convivial hostel life ... a room shared with Teo from Bilbao, touring Spain on his motorcycle over the twenty days of his holidays ... Jean-Paul, friendly Frenchman, fluent in English, from Paris, but now London based, working in financial services  ... assures me that money is real, though is a player in that drama ... then Eric, another Parisian ... a traveller, who tells of his stay at Sunseed, a community near Almeria and seeks information about Tamera, where he is headed next ... and Findhorn ...

All of which is counterpoint to my extended solitude in the decaying Casa ... reflecting that, whilst offering deep training and is manageable, is not what is needed long or medium term ... and questioning whether one really exists without relationship ... the Melting Pot, like most hostels, has conviviality whether you want it or not, of course ... a late night with the young people ... and an early start ( since the summer minibus service to Bolonia only starts in July) and breakfast with Christina going home to Naples to continue her guitar studies ... who offers me an apple for the trip ... 20 km walking, route not entirely known, though the hard shoulder is the reliable option .... research has not established seaside options, though it soon becomes clear that cliffs intervene and with another hot day forecast getting lost is best avoided ... so, four and a half hours brisk walk takes me to the Hostal Rios ... clean and simple beachside room for three days writing, reading, walking and swimming ...