Christmas Greetings

I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your support in 2012. It may not have been the best of years but at least together we made the most of it. I look forward to seeing you all in Ayamonte at one stage or another in 2013.

May you and yours have a great Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2013.

In February 2013 I hope to unveil a new site which will also help you get the best out of Ayamonte, watch this space.

Me gustaría dar las gracias a todos y cada uno de ustedes por su apoyo en 2012. Puede que no haya sido el mejor de los años, pero al menos juntos lo hemos aprovechado al máximo. Espeero verles a  todos en Ayamonte en momento o otro en el 2013.

Que usted y los suyos tengan una Feliz Navidad y un Próspero Año Nuevo 2013.

En febrero de 2013 espero dar a conocer una nueva página web que también le ayudará a sacar el maximo partido de Ayamonte, vea este espacio.

Isla Canela

Isla Canela, which when translated back into English means Cinnamon Island, is a natural Island situated in most westerly point of the Huelva coast. Isla Canela, is part of the municipality of Ayamonte and is surrounded by the Guadiana River to the West, the Atlantic Ocean to the South, Marismas de Isla Cristina (Isla Cristina marshlands) to the East and Ayamonte to the North.To access Isla Canela you drive through Ayamonte following the signposts to the beach, once you pass the Athletics Track San Blas on the right and the Ayamonte Football Stadium on the left you will come to a bridge that will take you onto Isla Canela. I have broken Isla Canela down into four areas: Barriada Canela, Isla Canela Golf, Isla Canela Beach and Punta de Moral – Isla Canela Marina.

Barriada-Isla-Canela

Barriada Canela (Canela neighbourhood) is the first neighbourhood you see as you drive onto Isla Canela Island. It is predominantly a fishing neighbourhood and has a number of good fish restaurants. La Rana (the frog) is always worth a visit. The fishing boats are moored along the side of the road with fishing nets and octopus pots stretched out along the entire promenade.
On July 16 every year (Virgin del Carmen), the sailors take the statue of Virgin de Carmen who is the patron saint for sailors, on their shoulders and parade her through the neighbourhood and into the water. There is a little Chapel in the centre of a roundabout which houses the statue throughout the year.

Isla Canela Golf

Isla Canela-golf 18 hole golf course. As you drive further onto Isla Canela the next place you come across is Isla Canela Golf course. Once you see the roundabout with the golf flag in the middle, take a left and it will bring you onto Isla Canela golf course.
On your right you will see the driving range and as you drive further along you will see Isla Canela Club house.
Isla Canela golf course was built in 1993 and designed by Juan Catarineu. It’s an 18 hole par 72 golf course which is surrounded by the National park and due to its flat ground offers a pleasurable round of golf. For more info on local golf courses please click here .Beside the clubhouse there are bowling greens and for 7€ you can play a game of bowls on either the grass bowling green or the artificial grass bowling green.

Isla Canela Beach

Isla Canela beach runs from the mouth of the Guadiana River all the way to Punta de Moral beach. It is 5.5 kilometres long and this fine golden sand beach is some 20 metres wide in some parts and surrounded by sand dunes. The locals regard Isla Canela Beach as Ayamonte’s beach so if you ask for directions to the beach this is where they will send you. There are numerous beach bars and restaurants in the area and “La Cabra” (the goat) is a popular beach restaurant where on a summer afternoon you can sit back and take in the beautiful views while listening to some live music.
Kite Surfing is becoming very popular in this area and on an afternoon with a slight breeze it’s not unusual to see a group of kite-surfers somersaulting into the air. There is a long promenade along the beach ideal for walking , roller balding or cycling and the bicycle lane is connect up all the way to Ayamonte town. There is one hotel on this part of Isla Canela, the Barcelo Isla Canela four star hotel, for more information click here

Punta de Moral & Isla Canela Marina

Punta Moral is a fishing village on Isla Canela Island and the majority of people living in this village make their living from the fishing industry whether it be fishing or in the numerous fish restaurants that are scattered around the village. “Arroz  Marinero” (sailors rice) is one of the famous dishes that can be found here, this rice dish with an abundance of seafood is something every visitor to Isla Canela should try at least once. The village itself has undergone many changes recently with a new dock completed in early in 2010 and plans for a promenade to link Punta de Moral directly to Isla Canela Marina.

Isla Canela was built by Pyconsa the company who developed the majority of the apartments, buildings and facilities on Isla Canela. There are 231 mooring places in the marina and it can cater for boats up to 24 meters in length.

There is a shopping centre beside the marina full of bars, restaurants, cafes and minimarkets.

To keep up to date with what is going on Isla Canela or to find out more information about the area see here

 

 

Costa Esuri

Costa Esuri is the biggest golf residential development on the East Coast of Andalucia. Costa Esuri is 4.638 million square metres (463.8 hectares) in size and has two 18-hole golf courses around which the properties on this development are built. There are also another seven ample designated green areas known as “Zonas Verdes” where nothing can be built (see ZV on map below).

The development was originally urbanized by Fadesa contemplates the construction of 6,000 properties in Costa Esuri. Fadesa was later bought by Martinsa with the new company being called Martinsa Fadesa.

Martinsa Fadesa before going into protective administration sold some of the development plots to third party promoters /developers.  Here are the plots which have been developed by Martinsa Fadesa

Marina Esuri (Map RMA-1)            498 2 & 3 bedroom apartments                             Completed

Vista Esuri (Map Rago 2)              372 2 & 3 bedroom apartments                             Completed

Las Lomas (Map RVA-4)               285 2 & 3 bedroom townhouses                           Completed

Las Jarras (Map RVA-1)               196 2 & 3 bedroom townhouses                            Completed

Las Encinas (Map Rago 1)           437 2 & 3 bedroom apartments                             Completed

Las Colinas (Map RAH-1)             373 2 & 3 bedroom apartments                             Completed

Shopping Centre (Map C-1)         66 shops with 973 parking spaces                         Almost complete

4* Hotel (Map H-2)                        250 bed four star hotel                                               Structure

Ayamonte

Property is all about location or so they say, and Ayamonte has everything in terms of location. Golden sandy beaches, three golf courses, the Guadiana River and Faro International airport only 45 minutes drive away. Seville International aiport is a little over an hour away but over ninety per cent of all visitors, tourists and indeed residents use Faro airport as their main airport. There is also the novelty of knowing that you can leave Ayamonte at the time you want to arrive at the check-in Faro. The difference of one hour between Spanish time and Portuguese time also means that you can ring in the New year twice simply by driving over the bridge. Like it’s been said it all about location and Ayamonte has it.

Ayamonte has a rich cultural history and throughout the year there are various exhibitions and concerts featuring local, national and international talent. There are various interesting old buildings and monuments dotted throughout the town.
The sports and leisure facilities are many and varied. The local fiestas have to be experienced to be believed. Here are some of the dates that should not be missed:

 
January – Procession of the three Kings.
The fifth of January is the night when the three Kings visit the children to bring their Christmas presents. 

The Kings parade through the streets throwing sweets to the delighted and beaming children. It not unusual to see all the kids carrying umbrellas but they are not for the rain but a useful tool went turned upside –down to catch the thousands of sweets that are thrown from the passing parade.

End of February – Carnival
Carnival in the south of Spain has a very musical theme and although carnival typically starts the week before Lent, the musical competitions that are associated with Carnival start their preliminary almost two weeks before that. In Ayamonte, “Ayamontinos” dress up in their carnival costumes and parade through the streets to the delight of the thousands of onlookers.  Tractors, carts and other vehicles are drawn into the carnival to act as floats to transport the various groups of carnival participants as they make their way through the town. Meanwhile in the Cardenio Theatre (Ayamonte’s main Hall) musical groups that compete in Carnival musical competition, these groups are not your common street bands, but usually a group of friends or co-workers who compose a song that treats a common theme with irony and sarcasm. Politicians, the health service, the economic crisis are common topics that will undoubtedly come in for a severe pasting every year.
The festival on the street may not be like Rio de Janeiro, simply because it is winter here, but the parades (Gran Cabalgata de Carnaval) are well worth taking the time out to see. And for those of you who want to venture out to socialise during Carnival, some sort of a costume is expected. Carnival ends on Ash Wednesday with the Burial of the Sardine (Entierro de la Sardina), which is usually a giant cardboard sardine which is set on fire at the end of the parade.

March/April – Holy week (Semana Santa)

Holy week is a solemn but spectacular event in Ayamonte. Crosses and effigies built on thrones are brought out of the churches and paraded through the narrow cobble streets.  The silence of the thousands of onlookers is only broken by the sound of the beating drums.  The thrones which weigh hundreds of kilos are hoisted high by  the Costaleros , members of the religious brotherhood who carry the effigies on their shoulders aounds the town in a slow parade. The dedication, the skill and sheer effort to carry all that weight for hours is enough to gain the respect from any spectator. On occasions they only have millimetres to manoeuvre the thrones and remembering that these effigies are centuries old and of incalculable value, it only adds to the occasion.

Holy week in Ayamonte goes back 500 years and is now considered to be an outstanding national fiesta. In Ayamonte, the children have started a new tradition of collecting the candle wax from the passing procession and it is not uncommon to see them with multi-coloured balls of wax the size of tennis balls by the end of Easter.

May – “Romeria”
The Spanish dress up in their traditional dress and celebrate.  The “romerias” are a festival of colour and tradition with young and old alike attired in long Spanish dresses or suits.   The “romerias” are a celebration of the local patrons and throughout the month of May in Ayamonte and surrounding districts you can join in with the locals and sing, dance, eat and drink the weekend away.

Beginning of September – “Las Angustias” fiesta

Las-Angustias the fiesta for “Our lady of Angustias” has its main day on the 8 th. September but on the days leading up to this date, and the days after, the fiesta continues.   “Our lady of Anguistias” is paraded through the streets of Ayamonte and people come from far and wide to watch the spectacular procession. During the fiesta there are; sporting activities, painting and photography exhibitions and concerts by well know Spanish singers. The festival starts with the arrival of the local band on the ferry from Villa Real de Santo Antonio and from there they march to the fairground for the swithng on of the festival lights.

The majority of the partying goes on in Fairground located just behind the Congress Centre on the main road into the town centre.

13th. November – Saint Diego Fiesta

Diego is the Patron Saint of Ayamonte and he is paraded through the streets on this date.  It is traditional to eat “roscas de San Diego” – a simply made cake similar to bread, in remembrance of the work that Saint Diego did for the sick and needy in Ayamonte.