If one day I disappear, look for me in Zahara de los Atunes
I advance along secondary roads following the GPS indications: there are only a few kilometers left to reach my destination. The fields full of sunflowers They accompany me on every side of the road. Also the immense windmills make an appearance. Great, I can already glimpse the sea in the distance.
Suddenly countless childhood memories flood me. How many summers lived on these beaches on the coast of Cadiz. How many days of sun and sea elapsed in Zahara of the Tuna.
I cross with my car the small bridge on the Cachon River and I go into the narrow streets of the town. I meet a Zahara that is still stretching itself after the long winter: some businesses remain closed, but most are preparing for what is to come. summer is coming , Dear.
The wonderful fields of sunflowers on the way to Zahara de los atunes
Zahara is made up of just a handful of streets, but a whole world is concentrated in them . The first thing I do is go, still by car, a little beyond its nerve center. I'm heading to El Jibbah Equestrian Center , where its owner awaits me.
I'm with Grace while she brushes and saddles the two horses with which we are going out for a ride. Although they are not the only ones: up to 40 specimens currently rest in their stables. And he calls everyone by her name. "This is going to be yours," she tells me. "Taranto". “Very well, Taranto”, I say to myself, “here we go”.
I am reunited with that beach that so many summers tanned my skin many years after my last visit. On this occasion, however, I do it on the back of Taranto , who does not hesitate to stop at each bush to pick at some herbs. Once on the sand, the feeling is magical. The west wind blows gently , and although we are at the beginning of June, there are still not too many people who take the opportunity to enjoy the beach.
On horseback on the beaches of Zahara de los atunes
As we go, Graciela tells me about her love for horses. 16 years ago she started this business to which she dedicates her entire life. “I bought the first one the year I got married. When my daughters were older and left home, it was clear to me”. She then founded El Jibbah, and now she organizes horseback riding for anyone who wants to discover this corner of Cádiz in a special way.
Taranto sinks his paws into the sand as the waves break on the shore. The feeling of having Zahara all to ourselves sticks with me as we head back to the stables. What a nice reunion with paradise.
Zahara de los Atunes has for most of the year about 1,500 inhabitants . A figure that, in summer, multiplies to infinity. Between July and September approximately 30 thousand people They roam freely through the small streets of this little corner of whitewashed houses. Also for its extensive white sand beaches and transparent waters.
And for its bars and restaurants, of course, which in high season can hardly cope. However, tourism is the great catalyst for the town's economy, the one that allows you to live relaxed the rest of the year.
Zahara de los tunas beach
PLACES AND HANDICRAFTS OF ZAHARA
Ready to savor those contrasts that define Zahara, I enter the Parish Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel . Incredible that, in the past, the same space in which mass is celebrated today was used for salt the fish . The vaults of the church itself reveal its history: built in the 16th century, it became religious temple in 1906 , and from its stones still springs the salt that one day governed everything.
A few steps further on, an enormous arch opens onto an immense site surrounded by ancient walls. In summer a craft market is installed inside. Although it may not seem like it, it is the vestiges of the old Chanca de Zahara Palace , built in the fifteenth century by the Duke of Medina Sidonia.
15 thousand square meters of surface made up the only palace of its characteristics that is preserved in the whole world: served as a defensive castle , as the residential palace of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia and as a chanca: that is, the factory where the tuna were cut up, salted and prepared. But inside it also had a lumberyard, a butcher shop, kneading ovens and even supplies store.
Today that glorious past can be breathed in the atmosphere, although the ruins are crying out for restoration to restore decency. a few meters away, life flows between the greetings of its neighbors, souvenir shops, restaurants and shops which inevitably make me stop every few steps.
The quiet streets of the center of Zahara de los atunes
In the Sirena street number 3 I ran into one of those businesses that do not leave you indifferent. It's about Me Piace, where Mauro's Italian accent greets me as soon as I walk through his door. Next to him, focused on the computer screen, is Eva, from Argentina. craftsmen both landed in Zahara 10 years ago and decided to establish their home here to start their business.
After spending the first summers walking the kilometer-long beaches of Zahara to sell their creations to tourists, they decided to bet on setting up their first store –now they are about to open the third-: half workshop, half shop, it is a work of art in itself.
Although the imagination of both plays with shapes and figures, tuna is the main protagonist of its prints, t-shirts, decorative objects and even costume jewellery. Also all kinds of elements that remind us of what little corner of the world we find ourselves in. “ Now they buy us a lot of t-shirts with the drawing of the ibis ”, says Mauro, “an endangered bird that lives in this area of the Mediterranean”.
A couple of streets away, in his workshop – Sotto Scala -, the oven works at full speed. They are cooking some original ceramic pieces which will soon be part of the store's genre. Impossible to get out of there without some creation under your arm.
Sotto Scala, crafts in Zahara inspired by Zahara
WHERE TO EAT IN ZAHARA DE LOS ATUNES
Hunger strikes at this hour, but no problem. This is Zahara de los Atunes in the middle of the almadraba bluefin tuna season ! Fishing for this delicacy is an ancient technique that has been developed in the area since time immemorial: the tuna migration route runs along the coast between april and june and has been, since its inception, a fundamental part of the town's development.
I walk through the seaside neighborhood, full of low houses that ooze the essence of Zahar, in search of those traditional restaurants. on its facades, the blackboards announce the tuna prepared in all imaginable ways. With onions, in tataki, in tartar, grilled... It doesn't matter how: its flavor is indescribable.
To start I head towards the steam , one of the mythical restaurants of the town. In addition to the tuna, in this old business there is something that I cannot fail to taste: its “ Steamed Octopus ”. Simply exquisite. But in Zahara the gastronomic offer is very wide. So much so that they are more than 73 restaurants that offer the best of their cuisines to customers . How to choose which one to stay with?
In Juanito's house Tapas are always a hit. Also La Almadraba, classic where they exist, is a safe bet. The fret plays with the raw material and offers the most original dishes, while in ** La Taberna del Campero ** - a branch of the legendary Campero Barbateño - tuna is once again the protagonist. Eating with your feet in the sand, here, is also possible: the ** Chiringuito La Luna ** is the place, where live music also accompanies every sunset.
Almadraba red tuna ceviche at La Taberna del Campero
At ** La Fresquita de Perea **, Curro and Antonio, their two friendly waiters, assure me: I'm not going to try anything like "Tá deluxe", the tapa that won the Audience Award at the recently held Almadraba Tuna Tapa Route . It is to take a bite of their tuna salad and be clear: they are right.
For the little coffee -or, let's not kid ourselves, the little glass- I go to one of those highly acclaimed beach bars in the seaside neighborhood: in the willy the relaxed atmosphere, stunning sea views and background music invite you to relax in one of its seats on the terrace until the world ends.
Wild bluefin tuna sashimi from La Fresquita de Perea
THE ENDLESS BEACHES OF ZAHARA
And opposite, infinity. Or rather the kilometer-long beaches of Zahara. Those that so many people dream of throughout the year, looking forward to summer and, with it, the holidays.
More than 16 kilometers of coastline, among which the Carmen beach , the closest to the urban core. In front of her, sunken in the sea, the remains of one of Zahara's emblems appear: steam, a ship run aground in 1893 traveling from Gibraltar to Liverpool loaded with sugar. The crew was rescued, although neither the ship nor the cargo.
Beyond, towards atlanterra , time stops and the beach becomes wilder. That's where those free spirits who yearn to find that little corner not yet saturated with umbrellas and towels travel. In the Cabo Plata Beach an old military bunker from 1940 rises imposingly among the rocks, while in the Germans Beach the villas with infinity pools rest on the side of the mountain as if they were going to come off at any moment. A little further, the Canuelo Beach: the smallest and virgin of all.
Canuelo Beach
And it doesn't matter which of them you choose: they are all the perfect place to forget about the world and fantasize about the waves, the tuna, history and endless days. Definitely, here comes the revelation to anyone who is looking for it.
So I have it clear: if one day I disappear, friend... Let them look for me in Zahara de los Atunes. Maybe it will catch you too.