Spain vs Portugal

Imagine going on holiday with your 79 and 78 year old parents and your 18 year old son.  It may sound like a recipe for disaster, but if I can do it, anyone can! And (mostly) we enjoyed it!

While Mark stayed behind in dear old Blighty, the four of us headed out on our intrepid adventure to Spain from Leeds/Bradford on 4^th September for a week.  Mum and Dad had been forced to cancel their own scheduled holidays after an accident earlier in the summer left Mum with a fractured L2 vertebra (ouch).  Now just about mobile, though only for short distances, she and Dad were game for the holiday on the proviso that I was nominated driver for the week. 

Daniel, doted on by his grandparents, was eager to come along to soak up the sun for a second year running at Paul Kent and Hilary Spencer’s wonderful apartment let in Ayamonte at the south-westernmost tip of Spain.  It was also a precious opportunity for me to spend some quality time with him before he headed off to embark on his new life as a University student.

Ryan Air did us proud and the crew were able to sound their fanfare to declare an ahead of time arrival in Faro.  Yes, that’s in Portugal not Spain and no, we hadn’t boarded the wrong plane, Faro is simply the closest airport to Ayamonte which is set right on the river that divides Spain and Portugal (more of that later).

Our arrival at the Isla Canela Golf apartment,  the first night and most of the following morning were horribly spoilt by the realisation that I had managed to lose the main set of apartment keys en route! Thankfully we had a second set so were not locked out, and a call to Leeds/Bradford Airport lost property eventually tracked them down after a sleepless night all round. Thanks go to Paul and Hilary for their understanding!

Dan and I introduced ‘Nana and Grandpa’ to the town of Ayamonte on the first day.  Dad enjoyed photographing the lovely tiled mosaic squares while Mum rested in the shade and we all enjoyed tapas.  Later in the evening we headed down to Isla Canela beach and sought out the Bomabadieres restaurant.

On Friday we headed over the bridge into Portugal to visit the lovely town of Tavira.  After lunch and exploring the castle we headed to the nearby spit of land Barills beach at Pedra del Rai where Mark and I had stayed in 2006.  A little train takes beachgoers across the saltwater and marshes to a golden beach and cluster of cafes. Dan and I took a pedalo out which was fun and only a tad scary.

The pedalling was good practise for the following day when we hired a 4-seater bike to transport Mum round the picturesque park at Plaza de Espana in Seville. The highlight of the day for me, however, was a tour in a horse-drawn landau round the plazas and gardens which Dan and I took while Mum and Dad went on a more extensive  open-top bus tour round the city.

On Sunday we headed over the bridge into Portugal to the town just the other side, Villa Royal San Antonio, and from there took a boat trip up the Guadiana river. This was an excursion that Dan, Mark and I had enjoyed as the highlight of our holiday in 2012 and it lived up to the memory again this time.  Much fun was had by all, helped along by the generous food and drink at lunch.  Fresh sardines, grilled chicken, tomato salad, fruit and some crazy entertainment.

We were lucky to experience the town of Ayamonte at fiesta time during this year’s visit.  For five days a huge fair on the outskirts of the town attracted visitors from the surrounding towns, many dressed in traditional Spanish costume.  On the Sunday evening we gathered with the throng in one of the town’s main squares to watch the long and incredible procession of the immense Saint Angustia tableau carried by several people underneath, followed by fireworks over the water.

Leaving Dan and Nana to chill out by the pool at the apartment, on Monday Dad and I took a road trip across the river again into Portugal.  We travelled north to the picturesque town of Alcoutim for coffee looking across the river to Spain. We visited the castle before heading west to Cachopo where we enjoyed a huge lunch under the vines, with the lemon for the fish pulled fresh off the tree alongside our table. From there we wound our way over the mountains and south to Tavira, then back across the bridge to Ayamonte.  Dinner saw us back at the Isla Canela beach for dinner.

Tuesday, our last day, and yet again we headed over the river to Portugal, this time to visit the World Heritage Site of Castro Marim just over the bridge.  It was interesting that it cost a mere 1e each to look round rather than the steep prices we expect of National Trust, English Heritage and independent historical properties over here. Lunch and shopping in Villa Royal San Antonio followed before a last session by the pool. Our final meal in Ayamonte was at a wonderful restaurant Jabugo, specialising in pork where Dan and I shared a pork paella that was out of this world.

And so, the verdict on Spain vs Portugal?  Well, we seemed certainly to have a leaning towards Portugal but the wonderful thing about a holiday at Isle Canela, Ayamonte is that you can easily enjoy both countries from here.  This is where the Spanish go for their holidays but the British do not appear to have really discovered it, the Algarve is just a 10 minute drive away and, best of all, the sun shines and shines…and shines. What more do you need? Salu.