Chipiona lies at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river which is navigable some 55 miles up to Seville.

It's a resort town and certainly very popular with the Spanish. In late August the beaches were heaving with parasols as far as the eye could see. Then September arrived and suddenly we noticed that the beaches were empty, an incredible transformation, as if someone had turned off a switch.


parasols, as far as the eye can see!

From the marina there is a long seafront promenade that continues well past the lighthouse all the way to Rota. In the morning it's very quiet. At lunchtime it's busy and from late afternoons it's heaving as people come out to enjoy the buzzing atmosphere.

Chipiona lighthouse is reported to be the tallest lighthouse in Spain, standing at 69 meters. Remarkably, it's also reported to be the third tallest in the world but looking up at it you'd never have thought it.


Chipiona lighthouse

At low tide, a maze of permanent fish traps appear, originally built by the Romans. Apparently the locals still use this traditional fishing technique today so they are in excellent order. The stone walls begin at the coast and become higher as they stretch out to sea. As the tide goes out, the fish are trapped in effectively, giant rock pools.


Los Corrales

As for the town, well it certainly has plenty of shady squares, bars, restaurants and narrow streets to walk down but there is far too much doggy poop lurking around! Thinking about it, since our arrival in Spain we appear to be watching our footing wherever we go, not very nice!

There are many small shops to browse selling everything from fishing gear, knives, clothes, bric-a-brac, toys, shoes and not forgetting the popular Chinese bizarre! Walking down 'market street' in the morning is very popular as fresh fish can be bought from the back of motorbikes and bicycles and cafe/bars are busy with locals having morning breakfast of coffee/hot chocolate served with a plate of churros (sugar coated donut sticks).


fresh fish

Many hours have been spent sat in the cockpit watching the daily catch land alongside the quay before being taken into the fish market for auction and watching the pilot boat leave to guide the commercial ships up river to Seville that are anchored in the bay.

From a marina point of view, it's relatively small and certainly quiet. Most important, it has a top-loader washing machine (hurray, loads of water in the tub!), English instructions (hurray, no translation dictionary required) and the cheapest yet at €3. Needless to say, it's been used more than once! :-). There is also a dryer should the weather turn wet and miserable.

Sadly, the visitors' pontoon has been very quiet and on more than one occasion we've been alone. With empty pontoons surrounding us the seagulls have certainly had a great time doing what seagulls do best despite the best efforts from the marina maintenance man as he rides his bike along the pontoons frantically waving his arms around much to our amusement. His efforts are of course futile resulting in the pontoons being pressure washed on virtually a daily basis and necessary to keep the place looking in good order.