The Map Doesn't Help

We left our hotel in Cordoba and picked up a mini-van to continue our drive through Andalusia Spain. Andalusia, once again, is Southern Spain, continually fought over for hundreds of years by the Christians and the Moors. Although I am calling it Spain, at that time there was no country called Spain, just independent kingdoms and Caliphates – some Christian and for 700 years most Muslim.

Although we have very detailed maps of this region of Spain, they are of no use getting into or out of the cities. Inside the city walls the twisting streets are impossible to figure out. We had a GPS and it was no help either. To leave Cordoba, we stopped at a Gas Station and an older French speaking man, tried to explain it to us, then he jumped on his motorcycle, held up traffic for us and led us to the proper highway. It was very nice of him.

In other cities we randomly drove and eventually found our way to our destination. We were headed to Estremadora – a region of Andalusia seldom visited by tourists. It is famous however for its Ham that is made from pigs that are fed only black acorns.

The area is very desolate. Lots of agriculture, hilltop fortresses, built by the various invaders and defenders, lots of olive trees and grape vines. We were headed for the city of Merida. This was a major Roman Town and there are ruins all over the city. We concentrated on the Amphitheatre and the Roman Theater. As you can tell from the pictures, there are very few tourists in Estremadora. The Amphitheater held gladiator contests and chariot races (just like in the movies). The Roman Theater held plays. The theater is still used today and plays are staged in this ancient marble outdoor theater. It would be a treat to see something there.

From there (once we figured out how to drive out of town) we drove to Trujillo. This is a small hilltop village that has an surviving Muslim Fort. We will explore it tomorrow!