Balneario

Today the Balneario is a minor spot for riding, but not an uninteresting one. The levante comes in side-onshore, softened by the buildings and the harbour mole, which makes it a learning ground for wingfoil and SUP in strong wind: when Valde is unrideable at 40 knots, the Balneario stays at 25-28 knots, far more manageable. Kite is technically allowed outside the summer season, but the launch area is narrow and hemmed in by the promenade.

Its real contemporary vocation is social. This is the evening beach, where locals go jogging along the promenade that runs beside the harbour, where children learn to swim in a sea calmer than at Los Lances. At low tide a tongue of sand emerges all the way to the rocks of the Isla, forming a natural lagoon where kids can paddle safely.

On the heritage side, the Balneario opens directly onto the Puerta de Jerez and Tarifa's medieval walls: five minutes takes you from the sand to the old town. That is where its charm lies: an airlock between the sea and the town, the place where you shift between two worlds.