The Silver Route

We’ve had enough, we just can’t stand the heat any more. However much we drink, we just can’t get enough fluid into us and we are feeling rough. There are so many places we want to visit, but when we do, we just can’t appreciate their treasures because we are dehydrated and just too hot. Cooking is nigh on impossible because it just heats up the van even more and we aren’t really hungry, we are snacking, but not really eating proper meals. So we made a decision, we are going as far north as we can in a single day, aiming for one of the places on our ‘must see’ list that we thought would be a few weeks away.

To get there we drive Vía de la Plata (The Silver Route). Despite its name, was never a road connected to the silver trade, it’s thought to have got its name due to phonetic confusion. It was originally called al-Balat (the paved road), and it is thought that this pronunciation led people to transfer the sound to Plata (silver)l. Whatever changed its name, it was first called the Via de la Plata on a document written between 1504 and 1507, by Christopher Columbus, so it’s been a while!

The Vía de la Plata has become increasingly popular as an alternative to the French route for pilgrims heading to Santiago de Compostela and today much of it is incorporated into the Spanish route 66 motorway. It is a stunning drive. People say don’t use the motorways and toll roads, drive the slow route, see Spain, but today we needed to really clock up the miles and as we drove we saw stunning scenery on an empty road. The further north we got the cooler it got, the snow poles marking the edges of the road appeared and the snow capped mountains of the Pyrenees greeted us.

Ian drove 475 miles in about 8.5 hrs. When we pulled up to a tiny campsite just as reception was closing we opened the door with a big sigh of relief, it was a cool 27 degrees, and we could breathe and sleep easy that night!

Melting in Mérida

When we travel we don’t often have a plan, we might have a rough idea of where we want to go and when we need to get home, but more often than not we decide on the hop where we should go next. We meet people, hear about their travels and are either inspired or become determined to avoid places.

Having loved the history of Córdoba Ian suggested we head north west to Mérida before continuing our journey north. I’d never heard of Mérida, but when Ian suggests something, there is usually a good reason… and there was!

We found a car park at the local out of town shopping complex and made our way to the city winding our way through local housing popping out from the gloom of the small side streets into bright sunshine by the banks of the river Guadiana facing a stunning Roman bridge. It’s huge and still in use every day. A taste of what was to come.

We had been hoping that as we headed north, the temperature would head south, but it didn’t! Walking across the bridge and then uphill into the old town without shade in this heat is not fun, but the climb was worth it.

Mérida is home to a roman theatre that was constructed in 15-16BC and seated around 6000 people although has been reconstructed several times (starting in the 1st or 2nd century, right through to today) it is part of the best and most extensive archaeological sites in Spain. It’s stunning and well worth a visit.

Behind the stage is a garden surrounded by columns that was used as a recreational area. The theatre is still in use as the home of the Festival de Mérida ( a classical theatre festival), which is held in September. Hopefully it would be cooler then, as there is no way anyone could watch a whole play in the glare of the sun in this heat, never mind perform!

Beside it is the Amphitheatre built in around 8BC seating 15,000 people built to stage gladiatorial contests and beast hunts. There doesn’t seem to be a current gladiatorial contest thankfully!

There’s plenty more to see in Mérida, but the other sites were closed when we visited, so maybe it’s somewhere to return to and explore over a couple of days.

We continued our journey north to Cáceres, a mediaeval walled city and another UNESCO world Heritage site. Cáceres is interesting, and although deserted when we visited, it is a popular place to visit. However, by this point the heat was getting to us. Several weeks of consistently being over 30 degrees was taking its toll. We had a quick walk round, a drink and a bit of Tapas and headed back to the Agy. We had some decisions to make.

However, by this point the heat was getting to us. Several weeks of consistently being over 30 degrees was taking its toll. We had a quick walk round, a drink and a bit of Tapas and headed back to the Agy. We had some decisions to make.

Feeling it, in Córdoba

That feeling I talked about in Saville, or actually talked about not having. Well, Córdoba has it in spades.

We’d been recommended to stop off and spend some time in Córdoba by Ian’s brother and when I mentioned it to another friend,  they said how much they love it, so it turned into a must do. And so it was!

It had been a Roman settlement, which was later subject to  Muslim conquest when it became a world leading centre of education and learning, and by the 10th century it had become the second largest city in Europe following its Christian conquest. It has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than anywhere in the world, and I can see why. It is incredible!

You enter the walled city via small alleyways, archways and cut throughs packed with people, marching bands, cafes and shops. Then suddenly you stumble out into the sun and  the outer walls of the Mosque–Cathedral or  Mezquita rise up above you. Through the massive doorway you enter the central square of the former mosque.

Here we found the most incredible building where first impressions bring a sense of calm, a special place of Arabic history, with arches and mosaics and stunning ceilings. 

Further into the building the present day Christian influence is brutally juxtaposed with the original Moorish architecture. Catholic iconography sitting boldly next to Arabic mosaics. A Roman Catholic Cathedral within a former Mosque. Stained glass windows pouring glistening muiltcoloured light down onto the floor upon which Muslim worshipers once walked. It feels holy, awe inspiring and welcoming, and to top it off, a wedding was in progress. It was incredible.

A further meander through the streets found us in a little place that couldn’t have felt more Spanish. A waiter stood carving Iberian ham, on a marble bar with a deep blue tiled counter. It was time for a local beer. 

Heading outside the walls of the Mezquita we find the Roman bridge at the city gates, stop for another drink and get to experience the full meaning of the fact that  Córdoba has the highest summer temperatures in Spain and Europe, with average high temperatures around 37 °C (99 °F) in July and August. It is early May today, it's 34 degrees outside, but  when we get back to Agy she has reached a sweltering high of 45 °C.  We are melting, exhausted, but culturally enriched.  

  

Oranges and Lemons

 

I used to live and work within the sound of Bow Bells when I was at Barts, but driving to Saville meant we saw far more oranges and lemons than I ever did in London…the landscape changed and we were surrounded by orange and lemon groves, everything was a little greener and the temperature began to rise!

Seville was beautiful, but unfortunately we couldn’t get into some of the monuments and buildings we wanted to, and with the temperature hitting 35 degrees there was a limit to how far we could walk when stopping for a drink every twenty minutes or so.  We may need to return at some point with better planning and cooler temperatures.

We did however visit the cathedral and although a fabulously cool place for some respite, it felt strangely odd to us both. There was no sense of calm, in fact no sense of being in a holy place, more a loud busy tourist attraction. We know Cathedrals all need to make money to support their upkeep, but every other holy building we have been to has kept that feeling of it being somewhere different, a place apart, a place of worship. Maybe it was us, maybe it was the heat, but we just didn’t feel it.

It is a beautiful city, with tree lined boulevards and  stunning buildings, but nevertheless we were relieved to get back to Agy, who had her very own olive tree to mark her place in our fab little campsite a short bus ride away.

Leaving Saville we continued our trip heading to northern Andalusia leaving the orange groves behind olive trees began to fill the landscape, oh, and a large black bull. We’ve seen loads of these as we drive along, but this time I managed to capture a shot. We have no idea why they are there, but they do look rather marvellous standing guard on so many hill tops.