By Jo Williams
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| Plaza de la Coronacion, Ayamonte |
With its attractive tiled plazas, remniscent of
neighbouring Portugal, lined with trees and restaurants and bars,
the fishing port and resort of Ayamonte makes an ideal stopping
place between Spain and Portugal.
It has more foreign tourists than
other resorts along the Costa de la Luz in Huelva province, partly
due to its proximity to the Algarve and its position as the westernmost
resort along the Andalucian coast.
Situated on the estuary of the Río
Guadiana, the second longest river in Europe, Ayamonte's
development has been inextricably linked to its position on the
border with Portugal.
Until the 1990s, Ayamonte occupied a prime
position for crossing the Spanish-Portuguese border, with its frequent
ferries across the river to Vila Real de San Antonio in Portugal.
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| Village life in Ayamonte |
In 1991 an impressive new suspension bridge was opened two kilometres
north of Ayamonte that took away the town's cross-border traffic
on what is now a motorway linking the Algarve with Huelva city and
Seville. The journey from Ayamonte to Faro on the Algarve now takes
a mere 45 minutes.
Ferries still go to Vila Real in Portugal with
the boat company Transportes del Guadiana, which runs regular boats
from the Muelle de Portugal in the centre of Ayamonte. From Vila
Real there are frequent buses to the Algarve.
The centre is a good place to take a leisurely stroll,
as many of its narrow streets are pedestrianised. These link small,
pretty plazas, which are tucked away but full of busy pavement cafés
and bars serving great seafood characteristic of the Huelva Costa
de la Luz.
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| Bougainvillea in Ayamonte. |
Visit the elegant Plaza de la Laguna,
for a good choice of eating places with outdoor seating. Next to
the main square, the Paseo de la Ribera, is the
harbour and further along is the ferry dock. In the old town is
the fifteenth-century Iglesia de San Salvador,
worth a visit for its memorable tower with superb views across to
Portugal. There are similar good views from the tower of the sixteenth-century
San Francisco church nearby.
Ayamonte is surrounded by protected areas teeming
with wildlife. The Marismas del Guadiana, the marshes
of the Guadiana estuary, are rich in birdlife, including herons,
storks and flamingos.
The Parador has an excellent restaurant and rooms
with great views over the Guadiana river and across to Portugal.
 The nearest beach is the new resort of Isla Canela,
five minutes' drive away from the centre of Ayamonte. It boasts
a particularly wide stretch of sandy beach, with chiringuitos (summer
beach bars), parasols and hammocks for hire and showers. It is a
fast-growing resort, with many new holiday apartment blocks, as
well as a big hotel, the Ríu Canela, and a golf course. However,
it also has extensive sand dunes and marshes home to abundant wildlife.
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