Dubai to Marbella via the UK (5 of 6)

Third Day
The third day should have taken me from Zamora to Caceres via Salamanca.

I found Salamanca to be a very beautiful city with a lot to offer the visitor. I got as far as the visiting the old sector around the impressive Plaza Major, Cathedral and University. With the help of my ‘Lonely Planet’ guide book and a pair of binoculars, I located the famous frog incorporated in the front façade of the university (very difficult to make out as it has nearly worn away), thus guaranteeing myself years of trouble free camping / motorcycling. Well, that is my own personal interpretation of the fable.

Travelling down through Extremadura, it was fascinating observing the nesting habits of the local stork population, with their nests constructed from twigs resting on a variety of location from church towers to electricity pylons. With respect to that latter, I observed six occupied nests on a single small pylon.

I arrived at Caceres in the early afternoon after travelling along a deserted straight secondary road to find a rather depressing looking town (it probably wasn’t). I carried on to Merida where I stayed in a very scenic campsite next to a Roman built reservoir which is still in use today, the water being retained by the original Roman built dam.

Fourth Day
Before proceeding down to my next night’s stop at Aracena, I rode into Merida and spent the morning visiting the Roman ruins, aqueduct, amphitheatre and coliseum. Impressive!

The route I took to Aracena commenced on the E90 (Madrid / Portugal highway), this short 63 km stretch and another stretch which by-passes Seville, were the only major roads I travelled on during the entire trip 1450 km trip through Spain.

Before reaching Badajoz I turned off at Talavera la Real onto the BA903, which is not included on the Garmin’s base map, the road being a country lane. This took me through Jerez de Frontera and Fregenal de la Sierra, passing by cave dwellings in use to this day. A number with satellite dishes and/or TV aerials mounted on the hill above their respective owners’ caves.

I joined the N435 at La Albuera which took me south through Extremadura, crossing the Andalucian border at Dehesa de la Aldea. Instead of heading straight for my next night’s stop at Camping Aracena, I made a lunch detour to Jabugo. Black pigs roam the neighbourhood oak forests, munching acorns. Jabugo is where the pigs are converted into hams, which are cured in caves located in the neighbouring mountains. The meat is sweet, delicious and expensive.

From Jabugo I headed east along the A461 by-passing Aracena to the campsite. After setting up camp, I retraced my track back to Aracena, which is a beautiful town made famous by its caves, the entrance to which is in the town itself. I did the obligatory guided tour of the caves which have some very interesting / amusing stalagmite and stalactite formations. One cave was full of formations that have quite rightly been likened by some guide books to circumcised ‘willies’. The group of young school children which made up the rest of my group definitely thought so, judging by the giggles and shrieks of laughter.

After the tour of caves I head south to Minas de Riotinto, famous (or infamous) for it’s open cast mining. Some of the deepest holes dug by man are located here. I then did a scenic roundabout drive back to Aracena for dinner. With a few exceptions, the restaurant food in the Spanish campsites that I have stayed in has been poor. The operators try and cater for visitors of all nationalities, the end result usually being international style junk food or basic snacks. Camping Aracena is not an exception.

Final Day
The final day took me east along the A461 to Las Nieves where it joins the busy N630 heading south to Seville. I by-passed Seville and joined the E5 toll road for 32 kms, turning off at Las Cabeza de San Juan. I was now entering familiar territory. I took minor roads and eventually joined the A473, which took me to Ronda through the spectacular Andalucian countryside. From Ronda it was quick drive down the A473 to the coast and my home at Marbella.

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