Post It from Camping Caceres, Caceres, Extremadura, Spain. Saturday 31st May, 2014.

After leaving Tomar we drove a short way towards Spain on the electronic toll roads again. Surprisingly the company had still to charge my credit card for the first tolls encountered some 16 days earlier and we had met many people who had not been able to register any payment method for the lack of collection systems on the actual motorways!

We wanted to see as much of the real Portugal as we could before leaving so turned off as soon as was practicable onto the main road to the Spanish border, the N118, and shortly after doing so we encountered a road diversion. It was well signposted but the narrow unnamed roads were quite narrow for our reasonably large ‘Bessie’. We successfully came out the other end none the worse after having to back up only once.

As we neared the border into Spain there was a magnificent view of the castle, perched up high, at Castelo de Vide. The landscape was not as dramatic as our earlier entry into Portugal, it was a little like the North Yorkshire Moors with dry stone walling and huge boulders erupting from the soil covered farmland.  Once we had past the now obsolete border control station we engaged with the Spanish Police who were stopping all vehicles, they asked for our passports. I was sure this was not in line with the European rules but was happy to oblige, the officer said it was not a routine thing but they did it occasionally when I asked him was it normal here.

The roads on the Portuguese side were narrow and poorly maintained but relatively free of traffic. Once we crossed into Spain the difference was clearly apparent of their comparable wealth. The road surface was perfect and much wider and as we passed through the new villages and towns there was a sign of greater wealth. The landscape changed to undulating hills with vast plains as far as the eye could see.

Caceres seemed to be a pimple in the centre of one of these plains where combine harvesters were hard at work in the scorching sun and row after row of olive trees were planted amongst the hay fields. We had seen olive harvesting and for those unfamiliar it is quite a site to see as a tractor shakes the tree after circling it with what is like an upturned umbrella to catch the crop. To see it on this scale would have been something for sure.

We replenished our food stocks at a Mercadona supermarket on the main road in a small town close to Caceres and then found the campsite with ease. It was on the outskirts of the City, by a tatty football stadium and across the dual carriageway was an industrial estate. The site itself was thankfully not as poor in appearance, terraced and with individual pitches each with their own bathroom containing shower, toilet and wash basin with hot water fed from our own gas boiler. There was water and an outside washing sink as well. This was a first for us having our own bathroom and it was only the second site we have ever stayed at where they allocate the pitches. Because I had asked if there was Wi-Fi on the pitches the very pleasant receptionist allocated us one near to the reception which fitted the bill. The downside we later found out was it was also next to the bungalows which appeared to be occupied by local workers who were less quiet than we would have liked. We could have moved but once we were settled it did not seem important enough to do so. Many caravans and motorhomes passed through the site the whole time we were here on their way to or from the Algarve or looking to get better weather as almost the whole of Spain, except our corner, was experiencing cold and wet weather. For this very reason we decided to stay for more than a week and were blessed with very pleasant, if a little hot at times, weather each day.

Caceres itself was also a good place to visit and we caught the bus a number of times from industrial estate which ran every 30 minutes each way for the 15 minute journey into the centre of the city. It was only a short walk from there to the old walled city which was full of beautiful buildings, palaces and churches, including the Cathedral whose 100 steps we climbed to the top of the bell tower to see the magnificent views of the City roofline and vast open plains to the North. Lunch in the Plaza Mayor afterwards was also good value and excellent quality food on the ‘menu del dia’ although I must admit my glass of wine included in the price was the smallest I had ever had in Spain.

Caceres had not been one of our intended destinations on this holiday but it has lots to offer the visitor and as we simply wanted to rest up and relax in the sun then it met the bill in every way. It was a pity the pool was not yet open as it was very large and set in a beautifully grassed garden, covered in palm trees. We also bumped into a couple we had met before at Salamanca and another couple who live near us in the UK and one couple who live in Murcia close to where we once stayed for a very long time. How is that for a coincidence?

If the weather does not change our plans we shall stay for a further 5 nights and then head for Aranjuez, just south of Madrid, and hopefully catch up with two sets of friends there. We are enjoying this holiday very much, especially the freedom to choose where to go and how long to stay, life is good to us!

Regards, Roy