Guadiana River

The Rio Guadiana is a very important river as it is the border between Portugal and Spain. The river is navigable for yachts to Pomarao and possibly a little further although, most choose to head up as far as the pretty towns of Alcoutim (Portuguese) and opposite, Sanlucar (Spanish), about 20 miles up the river. 

It took us a good few hours to get to our anchorage just north of these towns and we left Ayamonte marina just before the half flood tide to nip over to the fuel pontoon on the other side of the river at Villa Real de Santo Antonio. Situated just next to the ferry terminal, this is the only place we found to get fuel on the river.  

Just prior to leaving Ayamonte, we met a lovely couple on the yacht next to us, who kindly gave us some produce from their farm (or Finca as they are known in Spain). It turned out that about the time we would be returning from the fuel pontoon, they would also be heading up river. Just north of Ayamonte there is a suspension bridge that spans the river. As this other couple’s boat was longer than ours and the mast of similar height, we took some comfort in following them under the bridge. The air draft of Scarlet is about 19.5 metres and depending on which source of information you care to examine, the height of the bridge is either a couple of metres more or at least 1 metre lower!

Guadiana bridge

It was a heart stopping moment passing underneath as it is almost impossible to tell what clearance, if any, you will have. As it happened, we passed under without issue and relaxed once again to enjoy the fabulous scenery.

Sailing up a river was a unique experience for us and made a pleasant change from being at sea. The depths in the river are good, but care was needed not to pass too close to the mouths of any tributaries as these tend to silt up. Also, the depth was not so good on the inside of bends, but the river is wide enough not to have to worry, even with boats coming the other way. Our chartplotter showed us as being on land which was a bit worrying, but we later discovered this is because the electronic chart does not cover the river much beyond Ayamonte. However, our Pilot Book proved a useful source of information and we were able to identify various places on our way up.

Looking down river from our anchorage

Our good friends from Moonstream had been up the river the week before and kindly told us that the anchorage between Alcoutim and Sanlucar was mainly gravel, and as a result the holding was poor.  They had chosen instead to anchor just south of the towns. As this was crowded when we arrived, we found a spot to the north and weighed the anchor in about 13 metres of water. As we settled down for the night it was strange to think that one end of the boat was in Portugal and the other in Spain. Even odder was the fact that Spain are an hour ahead of Portugal, so we had to decide which time zone we wanted to stick to. As we will be continuing further into Spain in the coming months, we left the clock on Spanish time to acclimatise.

Scarlet at anchor, note we are flying both Portuguese and Spanish courtesy flags

The next day we launched the tender and used the crane to lower the outboard on. The current in the river can flow at 3 knots so not much point trying to row against that.

View of Alcoutim from Sanlucar

Like Alcoutim, Sanlucar could not be described as a huge town but it was full of charm and had two shops and a cash dispenser. It would be easy to be heading for the Med, stop up the river at either of these places and decide not to leave, as it is so idyllic.  This is actually what happens in some cases!

Both towns have a castle on top of a hill but the one at Sanlucar appeared to be under renovation and was also very high up.  In the heat of the midday sun, this would not have been an enjoyable hike.

We left Sanlucar and nipped over to Alcoutim, gained an hour with the time difference, and had an ice cold beer in the quaint village square.  After a gentle wander, we returned to the boat to soak up the scenery and unique ambiance of being at anchor in a river. 

Sanlucar across the river seen from Alcoutim

The temperature has really increased whilst we have been up the river and it is challenging to stay cool. 

40 C inside the boat early evening

However, Lynne did find a solution.  In the late afternoon, she sat in the dinghy which was tied alongside the boat in the shade, to read, whilst gently bobbing up and down. 

Great place to sit and read!

That evening, we both sat outside looking up at the moonlit sky and were lucky enough to see several shooting stars.  The only sounds we could hear were the sounds of the birds, crickets and the odd wolf! 

Every Wednesday in Alcoutim during July and August, they have some form of entertainment in the village square in the evening. We got to see ‘Big Band Night’. The entertainment was fantastic and totally free of charge. The whole town seems to come out and support the acts. There were a couple of female singers who sang with the band and the finale was a fantastic rendition of Rolling on a River.

Big band night in Alcoutim

We decided to move from the anchorage to a space on the village pontoon in Alcoutim. However, as we were lifting our anchor, we found our anchor chain had become tangled up around a discarded rusty old fishing anchor and some ropes!  It was a real mess, so we had to launch the dinghy, and armed with a knife, set about cutting away all the rope and then untangle our chain from the anchor, all the time making sure that our boat wasn’t heading for the river bank.

Not what you want to see

We brought the abandoned anchor and all the rope back onto the boat, to dispose of once we were ashore, as we didn’t want any other boat to suffer the same fate as us. The whole process of untangling the anchor took us about 45 minutes, so by the time we arrived at the pontoon, it was low water and we only had a few inches under the keel! 

Scarlet on the village pontoon at Alcoutim, 10 Euros a night

We have discovered that there is WiFi in Alcoutim but the signal is not quite strong enough to get on the pontoon, so we took ourselves off to the library, where we could sit in comfort in the air conditioning and catch up on emails etc.  The library also doubles up as an art gallery and is worth checking out.  The staff all speak excellent English and are very friendly.  It is best to take your own laptop in though as the two PC's in the library are often booked up.


In the evening we sat in the cockpit for our meal, amused that at every hour, on the hour, we heard the church bells in Alcoutim chime, denoting the time.  This was swiftly followed by the church bells in Sanlucar on the opposite river bank, with an extra ring as they are an hour ahead!

We have both found we are enjoying the village life at Alcoutim.  Every Saturday morning there is a produce market between 10am and midday (go over the bridge and turn right).  Here you will find a meat van, a fish van, a bread van and fruit and vegetables.  You can also do your laundry at the Youth Hostel, for just 3 Euros a wash.  Whilst you are waiting for the washing, you can make use of the hostel swimming pool. 

Alcoutim is rightly proud of its Praia Fluvial (river beach) If you go over the bridge and turn left, you will come to a purpose built beach on the river tributary, children's play area and even a volleyball court.  At the weekends, this is the place where the locals come with their families to relax.

Purpose built beach area

Whilst staying here, we decided to take the bus to the city of Mertola which is a 50 minute journey up the river (not accessible to most yachts). 
Mertola is a small walled city with a Castle and several museums.  You can catch the bus on Mondays and Fridays from Alcoutim at 10.10am, returning from Mertola at 3pm. The cost is 4 Euros each way and the transport is a comfortable air conditioned coach. We chose to go on a Monday, which was a shame as this is the only day the castle and museums are closed! 

Mertola

We still enjoyed a pleasant walk around the steep cobbled streets and had a long lunch for the bargain price of 6 Euros. This included a main meal, dessert and a drink.

Mertola looking back from nearby the castle



This place was full of character

Until our next installment...

Lynne & Steve

Faro to Ayamonte

It was hard to leave Portimao but we needed to continue our journey east. We spent a couple of nights in the marina to give us time to catch up with laundry, clean the boat, fill up the water tanks and go shopping to stock up on provisions.

Scarlet in Portimao marina

The marina has a hotel complex which gave us free access to a very nice swimming pool, so once all the jobs were done, we relaxed for an hour or so, and in the evening we mingled with the tourits in Praia da Rocha just a short walk away.






The next day we left early and motor sailed towards Faro as there was no wind. We soon settled into our usual routine, which mainly involves making mugs of tea, looking at the changing coastline and keeping eyes peeled for lobster pots.

There is an anchorage just through the main entrance, which has strong cross currents other than at slack tide, and decided to join a few other yachts at anchor in about 6 metres of water. After dinner, we tuned in the television and caught the back end of a news bulletin, which showed a large 'bush' fire, but we did not catch the location.

The next day we waited for the half flood tide and ventured around the corner to Ponte Cais. This is a very popular anchorage, and we counted over 40 boats peacefully on the hook. Well, peacefully up to a point. The locals appear to travel in high powered ribs, carving their way through the moored boats, causing a lot of wash and noise.

At anchor in Pontecais

We had, to some extent, become used to the wash of passing boats in Portimao, so we tolerated it and by the afternoon most activity had dwindled to nothing. It was in the afternoon that Lynne noticed we appeared to be a lot further away than we had been from a Norwiegian yacht when we first anchored. Unusually, we had not put the anchor alarm on, but if we had done, it would have confirmed what was plain to see. We had dragged considerably and not even noticed it! Fortunately,
we were at the back of all the other boats, or we would surely have bumped into one. We set about raising the anchor with the remote control and it became evident that not only had we anchored in a huge amount of weed, but also some long since discarded fishing gear. Unable to free the anchor off and dispose of the gear on land, we had no choice other than to break out the new knife/saw and hack it off. Once free, we put the experience down to bad luck. But, after another two attempts to re anchor in different places with the same result, we gave up and headed back to our original spot from the night before. 

As evening approached, we noticed a change in the colour of the sky and the sun was now very hazy.

Eerie sky

Lynne broke out the Cobb barbecue and proceeded to cook an amazing roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings, well, the ones we like anyway.

Masterchef!

Cobb chicken

Roast chicken with trimmings, yummy!

Reports on the television had confirmed some extensive bush fire eminating from Tavira, just along the coast. But, the wind must have changed direction, as a huge cloud of ash was heading our way. After dinner we closed the hatches and settled down for the night having checked that the anchor alarm was switched on. At first light the next day, we noticed the whole boat had taken on a smokey aroma and our first thoughts were to check we had put out the barbie. But, seeing flames leaping from the hills in the distance meant the bush blaze was still out of control and spreading.

Ash cloud, time to go

A layer of ash was by now all over the boat and visibility was much reduced. It was also difficult to breathe.  The sun was struggling to burn through the haze. We decided the best course of action was to leave and, after checking the charts and popping some waypoints in the plotter, we headed out to sea. Lynne took the first two hour watch and the sky, even out at sea, was laden with ash, making visibility very poor.



We continued in the direction of the Guadiana River with the intention of making for Ayamonte marina. It was only as we approached the river that the skies began to clear, but the ash cloud must have stretched for over 20 miles.
As our leaving had been in haste, we would arrive too early to catch the right tide to get us safely in the river, so we found a spot to anchor for a couple of hours and have a bite to eat. One of the highlights of our trip down the coast was the occasional visit from a flying fish. We spotted about four of these remarkable creatures. They pop out of the water and glide for what looked to be about 20 metres!


Our pilot book has been an invaluable source of information, and it described the pilotage to get through the entrance in some detail. Apart from running aground on sandbars, another hazard was a submerged wall, so with the chartplotter set to full detail and a series of waypoints to mark hazards, we made our approach. As it happened, it was straightforward enough and weather conditions were just about ideal.

Guadiana river, the Portuguese Spanish border

We chose Ayamonte marina on the Spanish side of the river, as it has more manoeuvring space than Villa Real de Santo Antonio on the Portugese side, and friends Chris and Frances from Usqubae of Fife had given it a good report. We did radio ahead a few times but got no reply. As this is a Spanish marina and we had arrived early afternoon, we figured it could be siesta time for the staff, so chose a free berth and moored up. Once the office opened we checked in but found we would have to move to a different berth so we waited an hour for the wind to die down (it picked up about the time we arrived!), and popped Scarlet onto her new temporary home. Once connected to the shore power, the first task was to get the hose out and attempt to clean the boat. Several hours later she looked just fine again, so we had a nap and then decided to head off into the nearby town to have a look around.  We got back to Scarlet in time to enjoy the sunset.

View from cockpit looking back at marina entrance

We should just say at this juncture, that the Guadiana river is a very important one, as it is the border for Portugal and Spain. As our marina was in Spain we took down the Potuguese courtesy flag and hoisted the Spanish one, but we noticed some boats that were coming and going, were flying both...very confusing!

The river is navigable for some 40 miles, and is very popular for boaters as it is possible to anchor just about anywhere. It was on our hit list of places to visit en route to Almerimar.

Ayamonte is a delightful place. Both of us felt at home straight away as we explored the medieval town with narrow streets and car free centre. It must have had an effect as we went straight back to the marina and paid for 3 extra nights!

Street cafes, siesta time hence few people.



This was to give us time to explore some more of Ayamonte.  For the first time since we left the UK, the fold up bikes came out and we enjoyed exploring the area.  There is a dedicated cycle path around most of the town, so we didn't have to worry about being mown down by traffic.

Steve with the  'Hogs'

On Monday, we took the ferry over the border to Portugal on the other side of the river, to a town called Villa Real de Santo Antonio.  The pilot book had suggested it was a pleasant place to visit with a large pedestrianised centre, making it easy to get around.  We decided to take the bikes with us so we could explore.  Whilst it was a nice town, for Lynne & I, it just simply didn't have the same charm as Ayamonte.  After a couple of hours walking round, we decided to head back across the river and grab a bite to eat in Ayamonte.

Approaching the main square in Villa Real de Santo Antonio

Along the river front in Villa Real de Santo Antonio

The marina facilities, ie showers and toilets, are in small portacabins next to the office, so we chose to use the shower on board. Our shower room is quite large for a boat and the shower itself is reasonably powerful so we usually use that anyway. There is no WiFi provided by the marina, but a small independant internet cafe will set you up with WiFi access that you can use on the boat for about 6 Euros a day. There is a small supermarket near to the marina office, but a much larger one is only a 15 minute walk away near to the ferry.

The marina staff will give you access cards for the gates (you need to pay a deposit) but the staff advised that we may as well just go to our gate, wave at the camera and they would buzz us in. This worked just fine until the evening we decided to go out for a drink at 10pm on the Sunday. The town was heaving with families finishing off meals, and just about all the restaurants were packed. We stayed out for a couple of hours, soaking up the atmosphere and then decided to call it a night. As we got to our gate we waved at the camera but nothing happened. OK, the marina is manned 24 hours so we knew someone would be around. So, we walked up to the office (which was in darkness), and tried the door, which was locked. We hung around for a while and luckily a security guard came out to find out what we wanted. "Please can you open gate C? We are going back to our boat." "Si" was the reply. "Yes, C" we said. "Si" was the reply once again. As we made our way back to gate C, we heard gate B unlock as we went by. We got to our gate, waved at the camera and stood waving for another few minutes to no avail. Back to the office to explain again that it was gate C we wanted, not B. Afer another exchange of 'C' and 'Si' we trudged back to the gate and went into waving mode. It was about ten minutes later, still stood outside that the guard came along and wanted to know what we were doing. "Trying to get to our boat", was the reply, "can you open the gate?", "Si" said the guard, "C" said Lynne pointing to the large and obvious letter C on the gate. As it happens, he had understood us all along, and his control panel in the office showed the gate was open. But, when he tried it too, it would not budge. The guard shrugged his shoulders, then leapt over the fence and climbed the stairs and released the gate from the inside. Never a dull moment in Ayamonte!

Like Portimao, some places get under the skin in a good way and this one is definitely one of them. But, once again, it is time to move on. We will leave on the half flood tide tomorrow to go up river and find a spot to anchor for the coming week. Then we will head out of the river and continue our journey eastward.

Steve and Lynne x