Well dear readers, we are no longer pilgrims. Nina still had issues with her feet yesterday and didn’t want to walk the 27 km today to Torremejía. We talked about her getting transport to the end of the stage and then walking the 15 km into Mérida, our finishing point.

But it seemed silly for her to stay in a small town with nothing much to do when she could go directly to Mérida. Meanwhile I checked out the brief description on the very useful Gronze website that I use for planning and this is what it said…

Today’s stage – The stage is long and flat, with full exposure to the sun and, except in the first kilometers, very monotonous when advancing on long and straight dirt tracks. Today we do not have intermediate services, unless we deviate to Almendralejo extending the route by almost 5 km.

Tomorrow’s stage – The stage is flat, short and without intermediate services; in the first half we advance along the N-630 and, later, we walk through the open field directly towards the capital.

Neither sounds terribly inspiring and to be honest I’ve already walked a few days on straight uninspiring tracks. And who wouldn’t want to spend some quality time in Mérida, about which the guide also says…

Today we arrive in the capital of Extremadura. The city, founded by Emperor Augustus with the name of Augusta Emerita, became one of the most important settlements of the Roman Empire in Hispania; it preserves numerous monuments from that time and a magnificent National Museum of Roman Art.

So you see it really wasn’t a hard decision, especially as I have missed a couple of stages along the way and it already feels less like a ‘normal’ camino.

We caught the 08:09 train and were in Mérida before 09:00. I had booked a delightful Airbnb apartment in the historic centre but check-in isn’t until after 16:00. So, being a bit cheeky, I played the ‘ Pilgrim’ card and said that we were walking the camino and had heavy packs and would it be possible to leave them at the premises when we arrived. Whereby he responded that he had just returned from walking the Camino de Santiago and he knew exactly what I meant and yes, we could access the apartment as soon as we arrived as it was ready for use.

So it all seems a bit ‘meant to be’.

No sooner do we arrive in Merida than the sun pops out and the clouds disappear and we have blue sky and warm sunshine.

I was last in Mérida in 2015, passing through on my camino Mozárabe from Málaga. But on the day that I arrived I had unintentionally walked 45 km and was in no mood (or fit state) for sightseeing. Although I did walk past the aqueduct on the next stage of the VdlP.

I also visited in 2001 when doing a tour of some major Spanish cities with an ex. On that occasion we visited the Teatro Romano and we virtually had the place to ourselves with the bluest of skies as a backdrop.

First of all we visited the Roman Theatre and Amphitheatre. What a stunning location just 6 minutes’ walk from our apartment.

Although we arrived before 10:00 there were many guided tours taking in place with tour guides spouting via microphones to large groups. We did however arrive before it became too crowded and were able to enjoy it well enough. It truly is a sight to behold.

We passed by two other ancient sites the – Portico del Foro

and the Templo de Diana

As we made our way to the Alcazaba and Puente Romano

Then partook of a couple of glasses of wine before buying some healthy food for a giant salad.

Next on the list is the Acueducto de los Milagros, the remains of which are absolutely fabulous.

But there’s yet another aqueduct 18 minutes’ walk away – so we go for the full house. Unfortunately we’ve been walking for about ten minutes when a few drops of rain fall from the sky, and then a few more and then there’s a huge clap of thunder, a sudden gale of wind, and the heavens open. Luckily we find shelter in the overhang of a building and wait it out until it all calms down about 15 minutes later. So we only get to see a bit of the second aqueduct from a distance because we decide to hot-foot it back to our apartment.

That’s enough sightseeing for one day. We still have tomorrow to do the rest.