2017 • Andalucía

April 3, 2017 to April 4, 2017

After leaving Gibraltar, I drove through the southern parts of the Andalucía autonomous region in Spain toward the City of Tarifa—the southernmost point on the European mainland. It was from there, that I would take a ferry to Tangier, Morocco so I could experience both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. Andalucía is an interesting place being that it was the last bit of the Iberian Peninsula held by Muslim powers until the end of the Reconquista in 1492. As a matter of fact, the name Andalucía comes from Al-Andalus, the Arabic name for the Iberian Peninsula throughout the Middle Ages. When in the southern reaches of Spain, it is no wonder why Muslim invaders from Africa (and later European invaders going the other direction) found controlling this region strategically important. As its narrowest point, the strait is only around 9 miles—only 9 miles separate Europe from Africa.