Wednesday 27th August 2008

Just arrived in Seville, after two days in the heat of Extremadura, within spitting distance, if my mouth hadn't been so dry, of the Portuguese border. Apparently, the locals think Extramadura means extreme and endure - and it certainly is correct as far as the temperature is concerned. We left Toledo on Monday morning and drove west through olive grove country. We stopped in a town called Trujillo on the way to our campsite at Merida (the regions capital); not the most prepossessing of places. Even the one horse had left. Paul thought the Plaza Mayor was cute and stood there busy photographing the great bronze statue of Pizarro; the conqueror of the Incas. This was where he grew up before he went off to kill South American natives. So that's what growing up in such a hot, bleak region did for you. Incidentally, Extremadura is the birthplace of the Spanish Inquisition. I rest my case. Extremadura is also noted for it's hams. It must have a lot of pigs. They sell the stuff everywhere and very good it is too. Interestingly, I never actually saw a live pig. We lunched in Caceres and braved the heat of the afternoon to explore the old town. It was built in the fifteenth century and literally every stone must still be in the same place as it was then. It was incredibly atmospheric. If the people who lived there then came back, they'd still be able to find their way around. Onto our campsite, at Merida. Merida is full of roman remains and looking at the campsite, I suspect it is one of them. Erecting at tent in 36C heat certainly tests your sense of humour. However, we bought some bread, cheese and wine, had a shower and sat there eating these at 10pm with the sky full of stars above us.

We walked into Merida early the following morning. A 10euro ticket got us into the main attractions. The ampitheatre and theatre (both still used for open air productions - Timon of Athens in Spanish anyone?) were stunning. The Moorish Alcazabar was a bit of a disappointment, although we were amused, upon descending into the cistern, to find a goldfish swimming around. I wish they hadn't tried to reconstruct so many of the remains. I'd prefer to see them as they are, with a reconstruction drawing nearby. The Roman bridge spanned the river, it's still standing and is one of the longest still remaining. The roman street and buildings uncovered when the ground for the council buildings was being prepared. The excavations duly remain with the office block buildings standing on pilings above it. Fascinating. We had lunch in a cafe with a glass floor suspended over remains of the Roman City wall. The cafe was in John Lennon Street! A street, in Spain, namd after John Lennon. Imagine....

In 33C heat we safely negotiated the Seville Ring Road to arrive at our hotel. Two nights here, to see the sights.