All being well this could and should be our last day of cycling……it should also ( please god say it’s true!!) be our last day of camping…..seventeen nights camping on the spin does not come easily!!!

We are woken this morning by what sounds like every cockerel in the world, or at least dozens of them, all competing with each other to make the loudest and most irritating “cockadoodle” (that doesn’t look like a real word to me but anyway). “Ok, alright we are awake!!!!”

Truth is we want to be away early to avoid the heat and also because finally, after what seems like an eternity, and despite what feels like an unhealthily large number of obstacles, we are within sight of the finish line. Tarifa, our penultimate destination, is now just 60 miles away!!!

Before I write another single word I must tell you about an email we received from “Team Santander”…..do you remember we crossed paths with them in Southern France …they were on their own bike adventure cycling to Santander? Anyway they emailed (anyone who talks to us for longer than 30 seconds gets a TMAAT business card!) to see how we were getting on and to tell us a little about their adventure (there was a fair bit of showing off about hotels and comfy beds etc as I recall). They had also not only donated £50 to our Just Giving but their employer (Microsoft) agreed to match it!! What a couple of complete heroes!!! If you are reading this now guys thank you so much…it really does mean such a huge amount to us…thank you!

We head off into the dawn excitedly….this is it!! About 40 minutes in we see the sea for the first time and and the very dim distance….Africa. A little later we find ourselves at the Capo Di Trafalgar, which was a possible theme for our adventure…from Trafalgar Square which recognises Nelsons achievement at the battle of Trafalgar to the actual place itself….I know, some proper culture right?

We push on as usual only pausing for food or water when it’s really needed. There is a somewhat celebratory mood today but there is still some really hard graft to get through and we are not there yet. I hadn’t quite fully considered in advance why Tarifa seems to be the kitesurfing destination of choice but as soon as we get down to sea level the strongest winds we have had throughout our entire trip are right in our faces. It’s almost like it is pushing us away from where we want to get to!

Sixty miles in a day should of course be easily achievable for us by now but, as we have found out, there are no such things as easy days when you are cycling day after day and today is no exception! It is tough and excruciating and pushing into the wind for the last 30 miles is exhausting work….every pedal turn is a massive achievement and just one more metre gained.

Eventually though, and it really does feel like after forever, we see the town of Tarifa in the distance and slowly, slowly, slowly we pull ourselves towards it until we are there….we cross the town boundary and we have made it!!

We wind our way down the southernmost tip of the town, which coincidentally is the southernmost tip of Europe, and celebrate. Unsurprisingly I guess given two strangely dressed brits are downing cava in tin mugs on the beach, we do get a fair bit of attention with people asking questions …the favourite question being “did you really cycle from London?”

Wanting this moment to last as long as possible we make our way to a bar on the beach and order two large beers, which they deliver in vases!!

We then decide of course that the best way to celebrate is to kite surf (when in Rome!) ….I have the blue kite, Marc has the red.

For the avoidance of doubt….no that didn’t really happen!!

Once we feel we have celebrated sufficiently we head off to find our hotel….maybe I will just say that again….a hotel!!!

As soon as we cross the threshold our host at Hotel Convento Tarifa is so welcoming…he thrusts cold beers into our hands, he speaks perfect English, he understands instantly what we have done…honestly it’s so lovely. The hotel is really beautiful in its own right but it also has beds, toilets and showers that you don’t have to share with strangers and there is also some new fangled thing called “air conditioning” which apparently makes you sweat less when you get hot.

It’s been the most amazing, fantastic day……we have faced into some really major challenges this time and had to make some tough decisions plus there is the significant matter that we started from my front door all that time ago and now we are here.

Wow…we really have almost done it, despite everything…..there is just a short ferry crossing tomorrow between us and Africa!!!