Day 128
Underneath the olives
We were heading for Merida. Now to me that’s a bike brand but actually it’s a city in Spain with strong ties to its Roman past. The first hints of its Roman links became clear as we approached the outskirts. A beautiful lake, surrounded by stunning homes and tasteful bars. It didn’t look old world Spanish at all, never mind Roman. Then we saw the remains of a once massive Roman dam, dated from 130AD. Today it just looks a great place to relax. We didn’t stop as Merida itself promised more. First to awe us was aqueduct which was built to supply water to the city of Merida. Only as small section remains, but it is dramatic. It brought water from the reservoir we had passed earlier. It is thought to have been constructed around the 1st century AD. I was stunned by it, apparently the residents of Merida in the 1st century agreed with me, as they christened it the ‘Miracle Aqueduct’. They had 9 miles of it to wonder at not just over 800 metres that remain today.
Next, we passed the remains of a snow store. The Romans built it, over the years its use changed, as public baths, as a place of burial then by the 17th century back to a snow store.
The big prize though was the Amphitheatre. It was completed in 8BC and is one of the largest archaeological sites in Spain and obviously is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We gazed in awe through the curtain of trees and solid hedge that mainly hid it from view. We needed to find a wild camp spot so decided a few glimpses would have to suffice.
We had a night camped amongst the vines, but sadly no wine, though I did hear a few snuffling noises outside the tent! We were on the Camino Via de la Plata, and as we had a lie in a good few walkers past us, so we wished them ‘Buen Camino’ as we breakfasted on nuts, no muesli today, the milk had gone off!
For a few miles we hit the tarmac, then it was back on the Camino. The route was somewhat un-nerving at times. We bypassed a perfectly good roundabout to pop out of the bushes on the wrong side of the carriageway with a steep climb and a dash to safety. Then we had to lift the bikes across a railway line, I was not a happy bunny at this point! Then the track became deep sand, rocks, ruts, a bit of a maze, us Pilgrims really have to suffer. We left the Camino to find a weird house. We never found it, but we did manage to climb a 14% hill on fully loaded tourers, in 30 degree heat. We were both very proud of ourselves and the local girls’ walking group cheered us on!
As it’s Gorgeous George’s birthday today we decided to celebrate with a fabulous hotel, and a few glasses of wine in the village square. As it’s Spain, we didn’t need to spend a lot, and though it’s well past our normal bedtime we are going to head back out for a night cap, cheers George!
