The only drawback to Ayamonte so far is the absence of a launderette. The weather has been good so hand washing ok most of the time. There is a dry cleaners where the lady will take in some at a rather inflated price if she likes the look of you. I thought she was Spanish and I enquired in English, apologising for my lack of Spanish and she said no. Returning to the boat, Dominique on the boat next door, explained that said lady was in fact French and had done some for her. Had I realised I would have tried out my rusty French on her and might have got further.

However as Steve reminded me I did have a washing machine of my own. I was very excited when he said that he had bought one for the boat but when he said it cost £25 I became rightly suspicious. It is basically a drum to put everything in and then you screw down the lid which makes a vacuum so when you turn the handle the pressure agitates the washing. You can also rinse with it and leave things to soak over night, better than by hand but no good for large items like bedding and towels. Luckily Joyce offered to do some for me sometimes in the small machine on her boat.