Vila Real de Santo Antonio

I will start this post with religion. The reason this time is obvious. Sometimes there is no reason.

God makes a promise to Earth:
‘ I do put my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a visible sign of my promise to you not to destroy the whole world with water again and when I see this I will remember.’ This is Sandy’s summary of Genesis 9: 11-17.
A rainbow is seen again in the New Testament when John in a vision sees God in the throne room.
John describes what he sees:
‘ and there was a throne set in heaven, and one sat on throne and to look at Him He was like jasper (a translucent stone) and sardine( blood red or reddish orange stone) : and there was a rainbow which to look at was like emerald… and out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices…and before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal… a summary by Sandy of some of Revelation 4:3 onwards. I believe we will see this one day and because of this I feel it is important to read. Awe has a place in worship.

From Huelva we travelled to Vila Real de Santo Antonio. We are now in Portugal. This town is at the mouth of the Guadiana River, which forms the easternmost border with Spain, and its southern Atlantic Ocean coastline. Along the coast, there are vast sandy beaches, dunes, and the Rig Formosce lagoon system. This area experiences a Mediterranean-type climate with hot summers and mild windy winters. The town has a rich fishing history but is now mostly a place for tourists and service sector-oriented industries.

It was in a pub where we met a Swedish couple living in the area that we learnt a little more. Firstly, they were very grateful that it was raining. Why? The past two years had been very dry. Water levels were low and the use of water had warnings of ‘use sparingly’. However, November 2025 was the rainiest since 1963 in mainland Portugal, with 332.6mm of rain recorded nationally. The eastern Algarve experienced particularly high values exceeding the monthly average by around three times at stations like Faro. The Algarve has transitioned from an extremely dry summer to above-average rainfall. As I write it is raining heavily. We have noticed that a park-up used close to the sea last year is now barricaded. Safety is important.
This couple also told us about a delightful exhibition close to where we were eating in the Centro Cultural António Aleixo. Each year volunteers build on sand, miniature scenes showing Jesus’ travels before and after He was born. It has been done each year for over twenty-two years and each year it gets bigger.
I will place it for its detailed beauty with our experiences of the Christmas lights we have enjoyed while travelling.

Let us now look at the position of this town and what we saw.

The motor homes are parked in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal and then across the Guadiana River is Spain and the town of Ayamonte. There is a ferry service that connects the two towns.

Now for inside and outside. We will look at the model village and the town.

An overall picture of the scene built on a considerable amount of sand, ’24 toneladas de areia – 2000kg de cortiça.’ It is said to have 5,900 pieces with 100 figures animated. It is amongst the largest to be seen. Lighting, movement and sound is all well put together. The more you look the more you see. Excellent!

The town is enjoyed inspite of the rain with carefully made patterns on pavements and a variety of shops and places to have hot drinks.

Notice the baskets for sale.

It rained but inside we sat in a Christmas glow of friends meeting for a time it took to have a coffee and go on their way. Such a pleasant place.

A donkey working to make meal.

Fishermen taking fish from their nets. We first saw the seagulls and then as we walked we saw the boats and then the fishermen. Work with one’s hands continues to be needed and mostly enjoyed. As one person said ‘ Pretty?’ I nodded.

Inside and outside!

M.F.K Fisher said: ‘ I like old people who have aged well. Old houses with an accumulation of sweet honest living in them are good. And the timelessness that only the passing of Time itself can give to objects both inside and outside…’

We travel on in the Algarve. It is raining!

Take care,

Sandy 🙂