Spain's mid-west

Casa Coloradas in the Plaza Alta, Badajoz, Spain

  

Leaving Elvas in Portugal, we headed over the border into Spain's mid-west Extremadura region. Soon after, we were in Badajoz, where we saw the stunning, red-and-white Casas Coloradas building.

It’s in the Plaza Alta, Badajoz’s main square. The Plaza is surrounded by beautiful Moorish style buildings, and plenty of cafes.

After a coffee break, we walked through the narrow, winding streets of Badajoz’s lovely historic centre for more sightseeing.

We found the Alcazaba, a 9th century Moorish citadel surrounded by impressive walls and a moat. We also saw the ancient bridge, old town gates, and the 13th century Cathedral of San Juan Bautista – Badajoz is an impressive city.

Aqueduct de Milagros (UNESCO) Mérida, Spain

Our next stop in Extremadura was Mérida, where we saw many Roman ruins. Our favourite was the stately Aqueduct de Milagros.

Mérida was founded by the Romans in 25 AD. Now-days, it has more Roman ruins than any other Spanish city, making it a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After the Aqueduct, we headed for the interesting Basilica Santa Eulalia and its collection of tombs. We also visited ruins of the Roman theatre, the temple of Diana, and the Alcazaba, a 9th century Islamic fortress that was built over Roman ruins. Walking across the fortified walls of the Alcazaba gave us a great view of the ancient Roman bridge. 

Torre de Bujaca, Plaza Mayor, Cáceres (UNESCO), Spain

Leaving Mérida, we were soon in the town of Cáceres. The first thing we saw after cycling from our campsite into the old town, was the imposing Torre del Bujaco, dominating the large Plaza Mayor.

With origins dating back to prehistoric times, the history of Cáceres shows in its architecture, and the blend of Roman, Islamic, Gothic and Italian Renaissance styles has made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Torre del Bujaca is one example of 30 towers remaining from the Islamic period.

As we walked around, we couldn’t help but be amazed at the solid, permanent and dignified look of the many raw-stone monumental buildings.

Church of San Francisco Javier, Cáceres (UNESCO), Spain

The next day, we cycled in for a more in-depth look at Cáceres and found that we really liked the Church of San Francisco Javier, that dominated the intimate Plaza de San Jorge.

After exploring the church, we wove our way through the stone-lined streets seeing other historic churches and cathedrals, the excellent museum, stately homes, and ancient towers with their resident storks. Then we walked around the very intact defensive walls for great views of the city.

We found this old town with its maze of narrow cobblestone streets, turrets, spires, palaces and plazas absolutely gorgeous, and marvelled at what it must be like to actually live now-days in such a place.

After a long but fascinating day, we headed back to camp. Tomorrow we move on and our next stop will be back in Portugal, heading for Lisbon.

This blog describes part of our 6 month campervan trip around western Europe, which began in Prague in April.