Vila Real is on the River Guadiana which forms the border with Spain and there is a regular ferry between there and Ayamonte. We had heard that Ayamonte was a good place to over- winter so we decided to investigate by popping over by ferry for lunch and a wander. The town was very pretty and very importantly there were 2 supermarkets within 100m of the marina great for provisioning.

We had lunch in one of the picturesque squares, Steve had a steak and I ordered a Crab Salad, feeling very healthy and sensible. I was somewhat shocked when I was presented with some bread and a huge pile of flaked crabmeat drowning in mayonnaise, where was the lettuce, tomatoes etc I pondered. I quickly ordered a tomato salad as well but was not impressed. The waiter was so surly I wondered if he had perhaps not brought everything! Steve only had chips with his steak I noted. However, as we wondered around the town we saw many folk eating huge mounds of Russian salad with just bread so that must be the Spanish style. We made a mental note to order a salad as well next time we ate out.