So our little town of Rota, Spain is pretty small. Maybe 25,000 people WAY more in summertime with all of the tourists that come in from all over Europe. From the main gate of our base it’s less than five minutes to drive to the marina where you can park for free in the off season. From there you can walk to past the lighthouse to an awesome beachfront promenade that spans almost the whole length of the town.
There is also a great rock pier that is great for photo taking opportunities:
Lighthouse from the pier. Marina is on the right, Hotel Duque de Naranja is straight ahead, beach to the left
We also have a wonderful old Moorish castle as well as a beautiful church right near the water. The castle is called El Castillo de Luna and was built while the Moors inhabited this part of Spain (during this same occupation is when the Moors built the Alhambra) The castle went through a few different incarnations, including a school, and is now a government building. Thankfully you can still tour it.
And on the inside is a beautiful courtyard with a sunken fountain:
The walls still have original Moorish artwork from the 13th century *swoon*!! The artwork was uncovered during renovations and they were able to keep much of it intact and have veeeeeery carefully tried to match the patterns in areas that had been removed.
And one of the doors off of the courtyard…
The church is in the same square as the castle and while pictures of the inside NEVER turn out because you cannot use a flash in there I have taken many many pictures of the lovely doors:
Oh yeah, I also have the cutest kiddos in the WORLD.
Sink Or Swim 
Nice to see a blogger living in Rota. I linked to you from Camels and Chocolate’s page. I’m in the Navy and have been thinking of Rota being a possible duty station for me. Would you say it is a good place to be for a person who enjoys traveling on weekends? Is it easy to get a train to Madrid, Seville and Barcelona from Rota?
It is a great duty station to travel from. While it may not be as centrally located as Germany, there are some great opportunities for day and weekend trip. Portugal, Morroco, The Canary Island, and all over Spain. Travelling as a family we have found that flying is generally cheaper than a train but the trains are very easy to navigate. Once you get to Sevilla it’s high speed to Madrid and Barcelona. It is also VERY laid back here. We OTEP’ed for an extra year, I just love it here!
Oh so you are a military family! Cool. I am in Japan now but my dream location has to be Rota. Thank you for that info.
Do you need a car there? Does the local community like the military presence?
I think the community here is pretty tolerant of the military, this is a Spanish Navy base and Americans are guests here. We have MANY local nationals who work on base. A car isn’t necessary but many people pick up a “Rota Beater” on the cheap while they are stationed here. Otherwise mopeds are super popular and you don’t need a motorcycle license to operate them. Good luck on getting Rota orders, it has been wonderful being stationed here!