Days 27 and 28

Day 27 Villafranca de los Barros- Torremejia

The route today was about 18 miles long and almost all the way along an old Roman road. In true Roman style the path was dead straight with mile after mile of vineyards on both sides.  Today we were joined part of the way by our young German friend, Katrin, who normally races ahead, but is now recovering from bad blisters and has to walk at a more moderate pace!

One interesting sight was a large fenced-in field of poppies which we found strange to say the least!

On nearing our destination the path was flooded so we had to go up a railway embankment to make our way to the other side. Regretably that was the only excitement for the day.

Six and a half hours of walking, sore feet and tired bodies were aching for a nice long hot shower. That we were certainly able to take in the village’s Albergue, a restored Mansion “Casa Palacio de Los Lastra” also known as “Palacio de los Mexia” and which was designated a cultural monument in 1995.




Day 28 Torremejia - Merida

Last night we had heavy rainfall but thankfully it was not raining as we set off for Merida this morning.  Shortly afterwards we found the path under four feet of water and had to go on the highway instead for a number of miles.

Ahead of us most of the way was our Dutch friend Koen who we have probably seen for the last time today.  No - he didn't die suddenly, he just decided to push on to the next destination so as from today he will be one day ahead of us all the way to Santiago!

For the past few days we have been walking alongside, or sometimes through, vineyards.  Today was no exception and we stopped to chat with a couple of workers who were working in one.  They told us this was a new vineyard, planted with Merlot grapes.  They were going to use a new method of planting to facilitate mechanical harvesting of the grapes - they seemed very excited by this development and we wished them well!


About ten miles after we left Villafranca we arrived in Merida.  The first sight that greets you is a Roman bridge which is nearly 1 km long!  When it was built in 25 BC, it was the longest known bridge anywhere. Merida was founded by the Emperor Augustus and was one of the most important cities of the empire and capital of the Roman province of Lusitania.  

We spent most of the rest of the day visiting the Roman ruins including an aqueduct, Trajan's Arch, a magnificent Amphitheatre and an even more magnificent Theatre with capacity for 6,000 people.  There is also a Roman Circus which could hold 30,000 spectators!  We also saw the church dedicated to Saint Eulalia, the patron saint of Merida.

Merida is certainly worth a visit.  We were almost tempted to stay an extra day but have decided to plough on ( or plod on) tomorrow!