This is the lesser-visited Eastern Algarve, and the unspoiled beaches of the Rio Formosa national park are only a 15-minute drive away.
There's a lovely, logical route along the coast, heading south from Sanlúcar de Barrameda (erstwhile home of Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, and a gateway to the new world in the early 16th century) through the city of Cádiz, to the deservedly touristy Vejer de la Frontera, and the unspoiled beaches of Zahora, Zahara, Bolonia and Valdevaqueros, before ending up in Tarifa.
The mile-long turn-off to Cabier Vision looked as if someone had been open-cast mining on it, but at the end was another unspoiled beach overlooked by a couple of discreet wooden chalets on stilts.
The peninsula, a big knuckle on the north-west coast of Scotland, remains fabulously overlooked and unspoiled.
This part of Morocco has mile upon mile of unspoiled, deserted golden sands – we rarely came across anyone save a lone man on a donkey, a pair of horse riders or a local family having a picnic.
Bolonia beach is one of Spain's best – long, unspoiled and backed by pine forest.
They certainly haven't out-argued the various interest groups who do rather well out of the feds' holdings, from ranchers who enjoy subsidised grazing privileges (including Mr Bundy, ironically) to environmentalists who seek the shroud of federal protection over unspoiled land.
Unspoiled beaches of snow-white sand are lapped by turquoise water home to leaping dolphins and coral reefs.
For although the park is rich in some of the world's largest and most spectacular animals, there was a risk of finding a giraffe or impala wandering around with an arrow sticking out of its neck hardly the sort of thing that appeals to visitors hoping for a glimpse of unspoiled wildlife.
IT IS one of those January days when Washington looks its best: the sun pours out of a pure blue sky, glinting off the white dome of Congress; unspoiled snow carpets the lawns of Capitol Hill; an occasional burst of bird-song trills through the clean air.
Improved access to previously remote parts will increase the volume of visitors, drawn by the promise of an unspoiled and spiritually rich land.
