A rest day in Caceres. A city dating ask to the Roman Empire in the first century BC, Caceres has had a chequered history. After the demise of the Roman Empire, followed by the rise of the Visigoths, by the 5th century it had become just an insignificant way station along the Via de la Plata. In the 12th century the Muslims established a military base and city walls. Not long after the Christians took over. Hence a bit of a hodgepodge of history and the results are evident. Romanesque and Gothic influences along with Muslim characteristics are strong in the city. Today Caceres boasts a population of 96,000 and is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Caceres, so from an historical perspective, it continues to evolve.
You might say our rest day in Caceres was somewhat lazy in comparison to Merida. We ambled through the nearby streets, carefully negotiating the cobblestones and slopes. The hill top has a fort, a cathedral (separate to the other one 200 metres down the hill) and a collection of eclectic old buildings. We wandered through the military museum and found it all very 'pointed' - the swords, daggers and spears I mean. Very frightening implements which served as a reminder of the intense internal wrangling endured by the inhabitants of the land. Very unsettling.
Being Saturday and staying in accommodation with no check-in staff, sourcing a Pilgrim stamp for our credential/passport was near impossible. This required drastic action. The solution of course was obvious. Parador hotels are always well staffed, even on weekends. And the sign at the entrance to the Parador, clearly stating 'no entry, hotel guests only' does not apply to pilgrims right?! We are getting quite brazen with this whole Camino experience and so in we marched. We achieved our goal. Parador stamps in our Pilgrim passports!
There was a wedding on in the cathedral close by. With no real interest in the immaculately groomed people who attended, my attention was immediately drawn to the bridal vehicles - a new Ferrari, and two beautifully preserved old cars, a Rolls Royce and a Bentley. I am thinking the cars must have been from the 1930’s, and they look superb, at almost 100 years old.
With the convenience of a laundromat just down the road, we later afforded ourselves the luxury of a 'no wash' day. How good is that! Followed by grocery shopping (fresh fruit, fresh salads, yoghurt - and chocolate for Jenny!) That sorted tonight out. Then some further casual exploration of the city centre where there was bustling activity yet again, preparing for a Saturday night festival. They love to party. Interesting as we walked, one store we passed sold various sized frames for the brotherhoods to create their peculiar peaked hats for the parades. It’s big business.
Chatted for a while with a young French man who told us he has been walking 7.5 months with no immediate intention to stop. Looks lean and fit. Sought out the exit for the Camino in the morning. Always important to have determined the direction the day before and arrows are sadly insufficient in Caceres. Saw a street parade with people in all types of outfits, the paper mace heads of most interest to me. But the involvement was considerable and included all ages.
Back to the apartment for an early night in preparation for our short 11 km walk in the morning. Did some calculation on progress. We covered 175.4 kilometres between Cadiz and Seville, and now (by tomorrow night to round the figures) circa 300km. And we have 692 kilometres to go. And approximately one month left to reach Santiago. With some 30 km days coming up the distance will reduce more signifcantly.
Almost one third of the way- congratulations. enjoying reading about your experiences. Xx