Ruins, Goat Herders, and Medieval towns: Extremadura at its Best

When I started telling people that I was going to Extremadura they all asked the same thing: why?  This is a region of Spain that reached its glory in the time of Rome but in modern times has been lost and forgotten about.  A landlocked region overshadowed by its neighbors, Extremadura -from what I've seen- is a break from everything.  After a long bus ride from Seville, we arrived in Mérida.  After crossing through a gate and walking down a path of leave-less Spanish trees we were all surprised to see Roman ruins.  Well, we knew we would see Roman ruins, but what surprised me was the scale of it all.  The amphitheater was the first site.  We sat down on the rock staircase that circled a large pit.  For the first time I could truly imagine a gladiator fight.  I've seen them in movies before but the camera angle is rarely in the stands at the spectator level.  Seeing a little girl run out into the pit and hearing the acoustics of her feet hitting the ground brought it all to life for me.  We moved on to the other theater which was even more impressive architecturally with incredibly tall columns, statues, and a beautiful stage.

For lunch we were left to explore the city and experience the amazing culinary talents of the region.  My friends and I stumbled across a cheap restaurant with really good food.  I ordered the Kumpao chicken with fried rice a spring roll, vanilla ice cream, and a coca cola for 6,50€  An authentic meal for the locals if you think about it...all the tourists eat at the overpriced traditional places in the plaza and everyone else avoids it at all costs.

From Mérida we took a bus ride to Guadalupe to our hotel.  The hotel itself is a Monastery and is the most impressive place that I have ever stayed in before in my life.  It is basically a cross between a church and a castle stuck in a gorgeous and quaint city. We were staying in the most beautiful sight in the city and nothing I write could possibly give it justice. We stayed in that night and explored the tiny town for a bit; a relaxing night.

The next morning we set off on a hike.  From the monastery we walked out of the city and up a mountain trail leaving the medieval looking buildings and old stone walls for green rolling hills and areas of pine tree forests.  We hiked around mountains, through meadows, around a lake and it was absolutely beautiful.  We even ran into a wondering goat herder and his hundreds of goats.  10 miles later we were all happy to cross over a giant hill and enter another city.

We spent the next night in Trujillo, an medieval city where some very important conquistadores of the New World were born and raised.  Another relaxing night.  We walked around the city, had supper, and then made our way back to the hotel for an early night's sleep.

Overall this trip was a nice change from the touristy stuff that you usually do when you travel.  I really enjoyed the hike and the tiny towns that we stayed in.  Extremadura is a place that not many North Americans travel to and I am happy that I got to experience the best of the most boring part of Spain.  Definitely  my favorite trip so far!