More and more African migrants are now trying to reach Spain after Italy and others stepped up restrictions. How to get there has been the challenge. Many are looking for other routes, possibly through Morocco, as fears grow of torture in Libyan camps and Italy refusing ships filled with refugees. Al Goodman has more from Spain's southern coast.

La Barrosa is an idyllic beach in southern Spain. One of so many that make this nation a top holiday destination. But last August during peak tourist season, these unexpected visitors arrived. About 50 African migrants entering Spain and Europe illegally, Spanish Civil Guards tweeted, seeking help to find them.

AL GOODMAN LA BARROSA BEACH, SPAIN "The African migrants, and the smugglers who charge them dearly for a place on a flimsy boat, have become more brazen this year on the Spanish coasts, after Italy and other countries restricted their entry. But on that recent day, right here, the migrants seemed to have little problem, scrambling right up those rocks and through an opening."

And just down the coast, there was also this recent landing. Migrants now crossing the Mediterranean to Europe are way below the one million who came in 2015. So far this year, it's over sixty thousand. But Spain has suddenly become Europe's top migrant destination, provoking mixed feelings for many Spaniards, says this professor in Madrid.

FERNANDO FERNANDEZ IE BUSINESS SCHOOL "It makes you in a way to feel proud of your own country that's perceived as a safe haven for so many people, so that's sort of the positive feeling you have, and then, on the other hand, you have this fear that these people will change your way of life."

Spain's Socialist Prime Minister has tried a more open-door policy for migrants than other European nations. He sought Sweden's support before the EU Summit on migration this week in Austria that debates potential migrant quotas for each member state.

PEDRO SANCHEZ SPANISH PRIME MINISTER "We always believe that this is a common challenge, that needs a European response, and, of course, a shared responsibility."

But the Prime Minister's policy has tightened since the Aquarius charity ship arrived with 629 migrants to great fanfare in Spain last June after Italy and Malta refused entry. Most African migrants are rescued at sea and then brought ashore. But as their numbers surged, Spain scrambled to provide temporary lodging and supplies for them, and the open arms stance was reduced. A small number have even been returned to Morocco, where they started out. This security and migration official in the previous conservative government blasts the changing response of the Socialists.

FRANCISCO MARTINEZ CONSERVATIVE MEMBER OF SPANISH PARLIAMENT "We think we have to, of course, protect our borders but also protect the lives of those who are trying to get into Spain in a risky way. So we think the government is really making big mistakes in this issue."

The Socialists and their opponents concur that better cooperation with Morocco and other African nations is a long-term solution to slow down migration. But the immediate issue for Europe is what to do with the migrants already in Spain. Many of them want to go north now, to France and its neighbors. Al Goodman, CGTN, La Barrosa beach, Spain.