Ayamonte

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Mon 23 Aug 2010 18:45
Ayamonte is a Spanish town on the other side of the Ria Guadiana about 2 miles away. We had thought about exploring by dinghy today but the wind was too strong this morning and coupled with the tide would have made things a bit tricky so we decided on a boat trip across. When we landed, we eventually found the Tourist Office and got a map of the town, which was difficult as it is surprisingly tucked away on back street quite a long way from where the boat docked - you practically needed a map to find it! We managed to find the only person who spoke no English to ask for directions - but we found it in the end. The old town was some distance from the main area but good exercise in the hot sun. The views from the top of the old town over the bridge and river were spectacular. There is also a beautiful square in the middle of the town full of mosaics and palm trees.
As we were in Spain a tapas lunch was in order, so we found a small bar full of locals and had a great lunch and some lovely Rioja. We got a surprise when we decided to wander round the town after lunch as all the shops had shut until 6pm! We have been in Portugal so long we had forgotten that the lazy spaniards sleep all afternoon!! We got the boat back to Vila Real and civilisation and went shopping here until we decided it was far too hot and went back to the boat for a siesta so we could do our jobs when it gets cooler. It is now 7pm and no cooler at all - it was 30 degrees at 10pm last night and looks like it will be hot again tonight.
I have also caught up with the local trend and have bought a wheeled shopping trolley for trips to the supermarket - they are clearly all the rage here and everyone has one so I didn't want to be left out. Johns job this afternoon was to put it together for me so hopefully the wheels won't fall off when it is full of important things like wine!

image/jpg

image/jpg