Ayamonte is a small town at the mouth of the Guadiana river, just a few kilometres from the Portuguese border. The coming and going of boats and the noise of the fish auctions combines with the bustling activity on the terraces of the Paseo de la Ribera to create a lively scene. Away from the port the town rises up the sides of a hill, its winding narrow streets lined by modest whitewashed houses. The brightly coloured houses built by Spaniards returning from overseas at the end of the 19C, endow Ayamonte with a colonial air.