Day 7: Zafra to Merida

April 29, 2023

We we went down to breakfast in the courtyard, the air was so fresh and cool. It was actually raining!! Wow!! Finally a break in the heatwave and the thirsty land of Spain will welcome the rain. By the time we were ready to ride, the rain had stopped and the roads were bone dry. However, the air remained cool and there was a brisk wind.

The wind was a rather strong side wind most of the morning and then our Garmin told us to turn left. Once we made that turn, it became quite a headwind. The last 30 kilometers the wind seemed to die down and we were happy about it. We finally felt like we were making some progress.

Remember the broken black bull billboard from Day 1? Well here is one in its entirety. It's along the autoroute and we're on the quiet side road. But we've now seen one! Osbourne sherry.

We made it to Merida and what history this town has dating back to Roman times - BC.

The entry towards the city center is crossing a Roman bridge - looking back.

After settling into our hotel (another parador - just wait for those pics), we set off to see the Roman Amphitheater and the Roman Theater. They didn't disappoint.

Once inside the Roman ruins site, we walked along this road. I'm sure glad man has improved roadways since 2000+ years ago! Riding a bicycle on this would be difficult!

The amphitheater where gladiator games were once held.

These are chunks of Roman concrete that made up some of the seating.

Looking at the opposite end of the amphitheater.

Up close view of the right hand side - lots of marble was used.

The seating area of the theater which is still used for concerts and plays today.

This area appeared to be baths as we could see where the ovens were that heated the water.

After all our meandering around Merida in which we worked up our hunger, we enjoyed a delicious meal as you'll see from our menu.

And this was sitting on Chuck's bread plate tonight. Sadly, he ended up tearing my heart in half!

This trip across Spain is so different from our bicycle adventure across France. The terrain is very different. I keep having to remind myself that Oregon and Arizona look very different, too. It's all about perspective, right?

Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 1,736 km (1,078 miles)

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