Day 1: Our coach will meet us at our usual pickup points in the Almanzora Valley and start to head west. We’ll be crossing the whole of the Andalusian autonomous community until we break north at Seville to reach Extremadura. Here, we make our way to Mérida, the capital of this historic area of Spain. There will be comfort stops along the way. Dinner & hotel in Mérida.
Day 2: After breakfast we will make use of the coach to take a small panoramic of Mérida, followed by an official guided tour on foot. The highlight of Mérida is its Roman past, which we can see at different points of the city, but the main sites are the theatre and amphitheatre, which we have included for you and which our local guide will tell us all about. The afternoon is free to further explore Merida. We strongly recommend the Roman Museum, with its hundreds of Roman pieces with excellent explanations. Hotel in Mérida.
Day 3: One of the best cheeses in Spain is the “Torta del Casar”, which comes from a town 10 minutes north of Cáceres. We will be visiting the premises, learning about the process and enjoying its sharp taste at the end of the visit. Once done here, we go to the
centre of Cáceres, where we enjoy a guided tour of one of the best preserved medieval centres of Europe. After some free time for lunch and coffee on the main square, we return to Mérida. Hotel in Mérida.
Day 4: After breakfast and some time for last minute shopping, we make our way back to the Valle del Almanzora, with the necessary comfort stops on the way
Highlights of our trip to Mérida and Cáceres. By Linda Wisbach and Wendy Wood
One of the advantages of the trips organised by The Almanzora Group of Friends, is that we have excellent, English-speaking guides throughout.
Danny was with us from the start – full of interesting information about the places we passed through on the journey there, and back again.
Valentín was our guide in Mérida, regaling us with his extensive knowledge of Roman history as he walked with us around the Teatro, the Anfiteatro, and through the town to the main square, where we had plenty of free time to have lunch, and to explore the shops.
In the evening some of us chose to visit the museum he had recommended, and the mosaics were simply astounding!
The next day we learned all about the wonderful cheese ‘Torta del Casar’, at their premises near Cáceres. They are such a lovely family, and we really enjoyed sampling their various cheeses, with wine, of course. Their shop was very busy afterwards, as I think most of us bought something!
Then we went to Cáceres itself, where we were met by David, our passionately knowledgeable guide, taking us around the town within the medieval walls. It is an incredibly well-preserved place (the whole area is a UNESCO site), with a historical treat around every corner! All too soon it was time for our return home… But I’m already looking forward to the next trip!
