Good Morning, Spain

Ayamonte

One of the things that attract us to the Eastern Algarve is its proximity to Spain. In a mere 15 minutes, you can take a ferry from Vila Real de Santo António to Ayamonte. And so we did.

Preparing to arrive in Ayamonte, Spain.

Spring Forward

If you decide to travel to Spain from Portugal, keep in mind that Spain is in a different time zone. It is one hour ahead of Portugal. And knowing that many of the shops would close for an afternoon siesta, we decided to jump on the first ferry of the day. There were relatively few travelers on this passage. Though cars can cross via the ferry, the only forms of transportation on our crossing were bicyclists and feet.

Crossing by ferry takes about the same amount of time as driving to Castro Mirim and crossing via the suspension bridge. You may want to use this method of crossing if your vehicle needs fuel/gas as both are cheaper in Spain (about €,23/liter less as I write this) … however, if not the ferry is a relaxing way to enjoy the sites.

A one-way ticket for two… round-trip tickets are not available. I assume each country sells its own passes.

Ayamonte

We only spent a few hours touring the city on foot. There are the remains of a 16th-century fort, the Baluarte de las Angustias, which was only discovered in 1996. Its location on a hill provided a strategic viewing point to the mouth of the Guadiana River. This not only served as a deterrent to attack from Portugal but provided defense against frequent attacks by Turkish and Berber pirates, and enemy galleons from the Dutch or the English. We also visited the center of town, which is a vehicle-free zone. While in the center of town we visited a church, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, which sits atop a flight of stairs.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias

There is a legend related to the church that goes that there was once a miraculous image of the Virgin of the Angestias in the middle of the Guadiana River. The Spanish and Portuguese fought to own it but finally reached a decision to share it. Transferring it by boat was impossible (and since the Guadiana International Bridge did not open until 1991), Portugal authorities decided the image “did not want” to leave Ayamonte. (You have got to love the Portuguese!)

Tapas and Festivals

To honor its patron saint, there is a festival, Fiestas de las Angústias, each year in September. We are told it is attended by bands from both Spain and Portugal. Along with tapas, it gives us yet another reason to cross the river.

Denise must remove her hat when crossing the river.