Another marina run by Agencia Publica de Puertos de Andalucia (formerly the Junta de Puertos de Andalucia) and no WIFI access! We did find WIFI in a small number of restaurants and cafe/bars but decided to purchase a PAYG SIM instead. Sitting aboard Flirtie doing research is far more comfortable, certainly quieter and drinks are available on tap.

Having walked around the town there isn't much choice, no choice in fact as the only shop is Orange. We assumed that the process to purchase a PAYG SIM card would be quick, easy and straightforward, like Vodafone in Portugal - how wrong we were! Having stood in a queue for over half an hour it was our turn to be served. Luckily the attendant understood a little English as we tried to explain what we wanted. Things were going well until she asked for a passport, which we didn't have - we only carry photocopies for ID purposes but she wanted to see the original. Back to Flirtie then! Orange close from lunchtime through to 6pm so we returned literally 10 minutes after they re-opened only to find that a queue had already formed so we stood patiently waiting our turn, again! This time we were successful having handed over €10, signed my life away in triplicate and provided my passport which they scanned and added to their database.

With all the research for the engine it didn't take us long to use 2GB so another walk to the shop (over 30 minutes' walk away) followed with another set of queues. This visit became entertaining as we listened to a loud irate customer giving the attendant some verbal whilst the others in the queue sighed, huffed and shuffled around agitated by the commotion being caused. It didn't take long for the Guardia Civil to arrive armed with guns, everyone went quiet then the irate man was taken outside for presumably a good talking to! What excitement.

Our turn arrived and we explained that we now needed a top-up, having used all of our 2GB. She said that it would cost €15 in the shop but only €10 at the kiosk down the street. Being cost-conscious we went to the kiosk for the top-up only to find (once back at the boat) that internet access was painfully slow. Guess what, another visit to the Orange Shop and another queue. This time the attendant recognised us, not surprising given the number of times that we've already visited. We explained that we had now topped-up but that it was now painfully slow. Thankfully she understood and was good enough to call up Google translate to advise us that there is a limit of 2GB per month. Once used, any subsequent top-up requires the account to be reset in order to activate it and that this could only be done in the shop. Simples!

In hindsight we probably should have purchased a new Vodafone SIM card whilst we were in Ayamonte since we're comfortable with Vodafone but unfortunately we didn't. We live and learn!

We can't believe that we've spent over four hours walking and at least two hours queuing just to keep connected... and people wonder what we do all day!