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