17 December, 2013

By VIVA Team

Kites and cows

Kites and cows in Tarifa, Andalucía by Andrew Lever

Remember that stunning sunset image of the clouds over Granada’s mountain that was featured as NASA’s image of the day last month? Well now it’s the turn of the charming town of Tarifa to steal the limelight when this beautiful photo took the top-spot as photo of the day on nationalgeographic.com yesterday. It’s certainly safe to say Andalucía is getting a fair bit of high-profile exposure lately…

The spectacular image named Sunbathing Cows, by Andrew Lever was submitted to the 2013 National Geographic Photo Contest accompanied with the following caption:

I was driving along the beach highway when I noticed the bulls sunbathing on the empty beach. I initially thought I was seeing things, but no, it really was sunbathing cows! I had to park my car a fair distance away, and that meant a long walk along the beach in 35 [degrees Celsius] heat. It did not matter because I had to get the shot. When I got closer to them I was careful not to spook them so I crawled on my stomach on the hot sand to get a good picture of them. Mission accomplished! It was worth the effort. Tarifa Beach, Andalusia, Spain.

One of Spain’s best kept secrets, Tarifa is one of my favourite spots in the world. Miles and miles of empty, white, sandy beach run parallel to the crystal-clear ocean littered with water-sport enthusiasts. Not only the most southerly point in Europe, it is also well-known as the windiest part of the whole continent, so it’s no surprise that laid-back Tarifa is a haven for wind and kite surfers from all over.

For me, this photo celebrates the connection between the stunning rural Spanish countryside and the luscious Coast. Just beautiful…

Check out more of Andrew Lever’s awesome work here on his website.

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