Aldea del Cano to Cáceres

We had another lovely cycle to Cáceres - a short one with only a few gentle inclines on the quiet N630. Again, just open countryside but more dehesa with herds of sheep and goats rather than endless agricultural land, and some interesting castles en route. I was happy to see my first Cáceres and Salamanca signage. We are going in the right direction!

We finally met another cyclist - a nice guy, Sandy, from Scotland who was heading to Seville to visit some branch of his family. He was pretty thrown together in terms of gear, as any young guy would be, with various things tied on to his bike pretty haphazardly but he seemed to be really enjoying the freedom of the cycle path, and said he was staying in hostels or camping wild. Always fun to talk to other cyclists. Even the day cyclists that we see flying past always wave or greet us - there’s a kind of camaraderie among bikers.

We arrived in Cáceres, a city of about 96,000 before noon. Our route through the city took us into a beautiful wide treed paseo in the middle of the Avenida de España with fountains and lovely big trees - magnolias are just starting to bloom - and cafes so we stopped at one for coffee and our new favourite treat, croissant a la plancha - yesterday’s croissant, split, and “ironed” on a griddle in butter with mermelada or queso.

This area is still part of the “new” Cáceres and from there we proceeded into the old town where our apartamento was located. A few narrow streets open into the lovely Plaza de San Juan, with the 13th C Church of San Juan and a bronze statue of an elderly woman, who sold newspapers in the square, and another bronze tribute to Holy Week, with the hooded figures who remind us unfortunately of the KKK, and of course cafes and restaurants.

Just beyond the Plaza de San Juan, the street descends slightly into the enormous Plaza Mayor, an expanse of strangely unbroken paving - no fountains, trees or other landscaping - well, there is a wall fountain - with arcades and restaurants on one side, dwarfed by the dimensions of the square, and on the other side, the buildings, towers and arches of the historic centre, rising up above the square. It really is a remarkable site and it’s size and openness are due to it being used as the city market centre after the Reconquista and where various spectacles and processions are held. It is apparently one of the widest squares in Spain.

I had never even heard of Cáceres before this trip, and if you ever get a chance, it is well worth a visit - really a remarkable place. It is a World Heritage Site and was a location for Games of Thrones, as was the Plaza de España in Seville. There was prehistoric settlement here and the Romans established the town in 25 BC. It fell into a decline under the Visigoths - what were they doing? - and then was fortified by the Muslims who build palaces and towers; then under the Christians after the Reconquest and the discovery of the Americas, it became very prosperous. It is the incredible concentration of medieval buildings and walls all in the same granite, slate and quartzite stone construction and the narrow winding streets among them that really make you feel quite transported to a different time.

More about Cáceras later. We found our apartamento, CG-VÔNAP (€210 for 3 nights) a short walk away from the Plaza Mayor but just enough to have quiet nights. A great apartment on two floors - a big entry hall (perfect for the bikes) and living room with a gorgeous arched brick ceiling on the ground floor and then stairs to the kitchen, bathroom and another step up, the bedroom with a big window out onto the street below. Beautiful tile floors throughout and more arched brick ceilings there too. Really thoughtfully furnished. Looks like this will be a peak experience all round!

Our day - 25 km. 200 m.