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.