Isla Cristina, place of pilgrimage for tourists and locals
636 kilometers from the computer from where these lines are being written, the second part of the route along the Huelva coast begins, the almost inhospitable Costa de la Luz in Huelva.
The last thing that Christopher Columbus could see of the peninsula before leaving for the Americas from Palos de la Frontera, on the other side of Punta Umbria. Many have been able to imagine, from the towel, how the three caravels crossed ahead on their way to a New World. Caravels full of sailors from the towns along this route.
Like a Christopher Columbus of the 21st century, and with the car as a vehicle, driving with the companion Atlantic is still appealing. Because after leaving Punta Umbría, El Portil or El Rompido, what follows already has a slight flavor of fado.
We leave El Portil behind to continue our route with the Atlantic as our faithful travel companion.
The last villages before arriving in Portugal still have Andalusian white houses and beaches where silence reigns, so it is necessary to make a stop.
For example? Redondela Beach, to which many came through the pines with a horse and carriage back in the 60s. It is no longer what it was, but It is still one of those hidden corners of white sand that is worth going to.
Nearby, on farms like Monterey, foreigners from countries like ** UK or even Japan ** have their piece of paradise with a slight Andalusian flavor and orange-tree smell. You just have to walk around to check it out. There the neighbors speak English and it is the perfect place to rest the last days.
In the meantime, Madrilenians and Castilians let themselves be rocked by the waves of Islantilla beach, full of hotels and urbanizations for their rest.
The Huelva beaches , after all, are more familiar compared to their neighbor Cádiz or the lively Algarve.
The evening light illuminates the fishing boats at the dock of Isla Cristina
And where do families, both local and non-local, go to eat? To the tuna paradise, a few kilometers from this town.
The route has a gastronomic stop worth mentioning in an entire paragraph. In Christina Island is ** Casa Rufino, temple of this fish since 1956.**
José Antonio Zaiño, his wife Anita and part of the family who are also at the helm are renowned for their cuisine, in which fooling around stands out, with eight tastings of different fish. If you want to choose one, it is better to be advised by the chef and his family –from Isla Cristina all his life–. Although tuna is mandatory, of course.
Ayamonte, a town with an Andalusian flavor that is essential on our route along the Huelva coast
Once we have a full stomach, and with the best gastronomic recommendation in the area, it is time to stop at Ayamonte.
Like a small Huelva, but with a port, this town with great architectural grace is a town of popular joy in each of its beautiful squares.
its buildings, faced by the Guadiana with the Portuguese coast, They defend with a salt shaker that it is an Andalusian town. And what a town.
He welcomes you and bids you melancholy goodbye, like the song that María Dolores Pradera sang.
The picturesque historic center of Ayamonte
And referring to her song, Although Portugal is already the neighboring country, it is impossible not to cross the imposing bridge that separates us to know the first towns of the Algarve.
It is a mandatory excursion to spend the afternoon Vila Real de Santo Antonio and buy a towel or a sheet.
And eye, because here Trendy wicker baskets have been on sale for years. Before, Huelva's grandparents they crossed by boat the river to buy coffee and tobacco at better prices. Now the excursion continues with a motorized vehicle with the excuse of renovating some corner of the beach house and their own home.
caravela house, on the main street of this fishing village, is the best known store.
Vila Real de San Antonio welcomes the neighboring country
In this street, arranged a few years ago, they share an awning design franchises, local cafes with menus in English, and shops with endless sheets and towels.
Many still have their embroidered bed linen from their wedding trousseau from these small shops, where modernity refuses to take center stage.
Its square, its tiled houses, its hustle and bustle any weekend, they make this pearl of the Guadiana shine that welcomes the Spaniard who crosses the border.
Lighthouse of Vila Real de San Antonio
Continuing with the route, and for if you prefer to stop to eat reading the menu in Portuguese, there is another one of those places that remains intact over time and with its more than delicious food.
9.5 kilometers from Vila Real, and crossing the tourist town of Monte Gordo, is Height and there is A Cheminé, which has been feeding the Spanish and Portuguese for years.
Its rice, its cod and its exorbitant portions –a pecha to eat– but tasty they would make anyone who appreciates homemade food cry with happiness.
And they make many skip several towns on the route just to sit down to eat at their white tablecloth tables. Perhaps the place is not the most instagrammable, but who cares. Empty gut, heart without joy.
'Surpresa de chevre' by A Cheminé, in Height
And to finish the route, because Tavira already feels somewhat far away –although if you can, it is worth strolling through its streets– Cacela Velha.
At the top of a small hill, this village of white streets, blue touches, and remains of Moroccan town, it seems to remind us for a moment of Tarifa, or of distant Tangier.
In fact, among its streets it is counted as Cacela Velha, overlooking the Formosa River, it was an Arab medina.
An advice? Enjoy the views, feel the Atlantic breeze, and get lost along the path that leads to the shore of the beach... A walk of cacti and wild plants that make you feel like an explorer about to discover something.
And when you arrive, feel how the calm and the Atlantic embrace you with Portuguese sotaque.
#Findtheroute.
The Ria Formosa Natural Park, one of the most fascinating landscapes in the Algarve