Mérida and Cáceres

Today's leg of the journey would involve a bus to Mérida, then a train to Cáceres due to the lack of a train connection for the first segment. Although the capital of Extremadura is Mérida, it is slightly smaller than Cáceres, which is where I decided to overnight. As the name Extrema-dura suggests, this autonomous region, being in the middle of the Iberian peninsula, is more sparsely settled—it has the two largest provinces in Spain—and has a harsher climate than those on the periphery. Many of the conquistadores in the European conquest of the New World came from Extremadura, escaping poverty.

We passed fields bordered by cactus hedges and ascended the Sierra Morena. The scenery became greener. Yellow, violet and white wildflowers grew in profusion by the road. The next seat was occupied by L, a US artist who adored Gaudi, who had been touring Spain for the last 10 weeks and would enter Portugal via Badajoz, due west of Mérida.

The bus dropped us off on the south side of Rio Guadiana. I enjoyed a walk across the ancient Puente Romano, the longest surviving bridge from ancient times. To my left, further downstream, was the modern Puente Lusitania. Recall that Lusitania is the Roman name of what is roughly Portugal today. The name survives as an adjective, e.g. Luso-Sino relations.

The train station was at the northern edge of Mérida. Away from the road and houses, we viewed different scenery. We ran parallel to a river for a distance. There were fields of wheat. Distant green mountains dwarfed the lone farm houses here and there. I imagined that it was similar to the US west.

At Cáceres, I took a bus to the Plaza Major where I encountered a bunch of school kids who were very curious about me. They asked me where I was from, what language we spoke, and what the time was over there. The first pension I enquired at had only doubles. The second offered a double for a reduced price, which I accepted. It was cold and windswept outside and I had no desire to go out so I snuggled in for the siesta.

After a bath I went to the tourist office and found it closed. Never mind, I was only here for a night. I walked through the world heritage city. Storks are a feature of the region and they have built their nests on spires and towers. You can see their nests in the photos on the right. The previous is of the San Francisco Javier Church.

I found the city neat and pleasant and the inhabitants friendly. Extremadura might have been the sticks but I felt that it wore its poverty better than Andalucia.

On high ground, I encountered a photographer and his assistant making a photo shoot of the cathedral and the storks. I chatted with them a little.

I walked along the shopping street. At an outside table I ordered a meal of caracoles (snails) and beer. They are a speciality of the region. It was intriguing for a try, but not something I'd order frequently. Business was slow, and it looked like it might rain that night. I was glad that I was only spending one night here in this province; I'm a city person at heart. But Cáceres looked modern for its small size. It is the home of the University of Extremadura.

I retreated to my room to cozy out the cold night. Outside it wasn't totally quiet, there was a noisy disco in the nearby plaza. In the news, Jane Campion was mentioned for The Piano, in competition at Cannes. The Danes had finally voted yes for the Treaty of Maastricht clearing the way for the establishment of the European Union in November. La Rioja was the third most prosperous region, after Catalunya and the Balearic Islands. Madrid reservoirs were down to 42% capacity, compared to the average of 69% this time of the year, hence the concern about water consumption everywhere I went.

Political cartoon in El Pais for the June elections: PSOE: more of the same, PP: more or less unknown, IU (United Left): more of what is needed less, etc.