The Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Extremadura
Extremadura......
A Spaniard from Extremadura observed that I barely had any information about
that region in the Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Spain. My apologies to Extremadura. I fear I can only offer a tiny defense that many
respected guidebooks also leave out what many deem critical information from
their books. I had one recent visitor notice that her beloved Rick Steve's Guide to Spain did not have a detailed section on Valencia and she had to download it from
their Web site. So I will follow that lead and post a downloadable segment on
Extremadura. The following information follows the format of the Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Spain. If you need more information about each section please refer to the book since
in a number of instances I refer to things, such as the Vias Verdes, assuming you have read the book.
Extremadura lies in Western Spain on the border of Portugal. It has two
provinces, Caceres in the northern part and Badajoz in the southern, each with
a city of the same name. It is a sparsely populated area with little industry.
What you will find in Extremadura are beautiful old towns that remain somewhat
magically frozen in time, copious Roman ruins, distinct landscapes, and special
local delicacies. It is like no other place in Spain, or the world, so it
reminds you of no other place you have been- it is truly its own special spot.
The largest city in Extremadura is Badajoz in the southern area of the region.
While Badajoz has some convenient transportation options the cities more sought
after are Caceres, Merida and Trujillo. Caceres, the second largest city, lies
in the northern part and is a beautiful walled city with thirty towers and was
declared a UNESCO World Heritage city in 1986. Trujillo, just over thirty miles
east of Caceres is another picturesque old city with castle, walls, and
cobblestone streets. The city of Merida, the capital of the region (but the
third largest city) is said to have the most abundant and best-preserved Roman
ruins in all of Spain.
Public transit is scant in Extremadura making an efficient car rental a good
choice for exploring the area. That said regular trains run to Caceres from
Madrid about five times a day taking roughly four hours. You can reach Badajoz
from Barcelona or Valencia but trains run only once a day from each and are not
fast - thirteen hours from Barcelona and over nine from Valencia. There are
trains between Badajoz and Caceres running three times a day and taking just
under two hours. Trujillo does not have a train station but there are buses
that run from Caceres. The Caceres train station is about two-thirds of a mile
from the city center and the bus station is just across the street from the
train station. Merida has a train station as does Badajoz, which has the only
airport in the region. Buses run to all the cities.
Biking is a great option especially along the Via de la Plata or Silver Route to Santiago de Compostela and along the Via Verde or Green Way – see Biking and Hiking below.
If you are driving, it is recommended that in Caceres and Trujillo you park
outside the city centers.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Fuente Buena is a special lodging consisting of a stone cottage with room for up
to six people. Situated on an organic cherry farm, it has no electricity- only
candle light -and a spring water swimming pool. The cottage is tucked in the
mountains, two and a half miles from the town of Garganta in the region of
Caceres. Prices range from 250 to 400 per week depending on season and number
of guests. Fuente Buena, Garganta la Olla, 10412 (Caceres); Tel: 699 134 339;
Email: carolinaeden@hotmail.com; Web:
www.verywildspain.com.
Natural and rural accommodations in Extremadura can be found at the Web site for
Iberia Nature offering listings of rural accommodations throughout the region: www.iberianature.com/rural_tourism/rural_tourism_Extremadura.htm
There are seven beautiful Parador hotels in Extremadura including in the cities
of Caceres and Trujillo. Housed in restored castle, palaces and cloisters,
these are luxury lodgings transporting you to another time. Web: www.paradores-spain.com
FOOD
Since the famous wild black Iberian pig is abundant in this region, vegetarians
should expect to find pig parts in every store and restaurant. There is also
quite a bit of lamb – which is good news for carnivores – since these animals tend to be fed on open pastures. A friend of mine from
Trujillo delights in her local food traditions including eating eggs with
vinegar, and garbanzo beans with oranges.
Products grown organically in Extremadura are certified by CRAEX (Como el Consejo Regulador Agroalimentario Ecológico de Extremadura).
There are no health food stores per se in Extremadura, but there are numerous herbolarios in the cities. It is a region rich in local products and traditional practices
making fresh, local food easy to find including local cheeses. While El Corte
Ingles stores are numerous throughout the rest of Spain, there is only a store
in Badajoz, which does have a supermercado (supermarket) where you can find natural foods as well as gluten-free products.
El Corte Ingles, Plaza Conquistadores, Badajoz - the supermercado is on the lower ground floor.
El Arbol supermarkets are conventional food stores offering some gluten-free
options. They are located basically in every town with six in Badajoz and
Caceres, and more stores in Trujillo and around the whole region. To find store
locations see the Web site: www.grupoelarbol.com/localizador.asp.
Markets
In Caceres there is a weekly Wednesday market open from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm on
Ronda de la Pizarra. Here you can find all sorts of food items as well as
clothing and other goods.
In Trujillo the weekly market is on Thursday mornings.
Specialties
Torta del Casar is a soft, creamy, strong cheese made from the milk of foraging Merino and
Entrefina sheep using the wild thistle, Cynara cardunculus, as the cuajo or rennet. The production of the cheese is strictly controlled and only eight
family-run dairies produce it. It is certified much like wine with a
Denominacion de Origin. Visit the Web site for information about the producers:
www.tortadelcasar.org.
Similary, Queso Ibores are cheeses made from Goat milk (some raw, some not) traditionally in the area
east of Trujillo and north of Guadalupe with nine certified producers. Visit
the Web site for information about the producers: www.quesoibores.org
As with Torta del Casar, La Serena cheese is made from the raw milk of Merino sheep using thistle rennet in the
eastern area of the Badajoz province of Extremadura.
The Jerte Valley is known for its cherries - see WILD below.
Wild black pigs feeding on acorns and forage are abundant in Extremadura - as is
their meat.
BIKING and HIKING
There is hiking and biking galore in Extremadura. You can go for short or long
haul trips and explore the intrinsically wild region.
The Silver Route of the Camino de Santiago - or Via de la Plata - starts in Sevilla and goes north right straight up through Extremadura
through Merida and Caceres following the old Roman route connecting Sevilla to
the Atlantic Ocean in Gijon. The Web site for this specific Santiago route has
excellent resources: www.rutadelaplata.com
The Green Ways or Vias Verdes are rehabilitated railway lines that don't allow motorized vehicles. One such
route is in Extremadura. It runs about thirty-five miles long from Logrosan to
Villanueva de la Serena, somewhat parallel to the road route between Caceres
and Merida. Details can be found at the Web page: http://www.viasverdes.com/ViasVerdes/Itinerarios
At the web site for Extremadura Tourism, you can find eighteen "Rutas Naturales" with links to detailed information. Many of these sites are in Spanish only,
so be ready to utilize handy Google Translate. It is worth the effort as you
will be led to wonderful vistas ready for your exploration: www.turismoextremadura.com
YOGA
Due to its low population density there are not too may Yoga centers in
Extremadura. Listed here is one yoga center in each province.
Presen Pulgarín - Iyengar Yoga, C/ Ángel Quintanilla Ulla, 1, Portal 4 - Entrep. B, 06011 Badajoz; Tel: 924 242 604;
Email: centroseiza@centroseiza.com
Chi - Prana - Ki, Adamaditas, 2, 10600 Plasencia (Caceres); Tel: 927 411 632
HEALTH - THERMAL BATHS and SPAS
Thermal baths and spas are not the first thing to leap to mind when envisioning
Extremadura, but an eighth of Spain's spa towns are in this region. In Caceres
Province there are the following five baths:
Balneario Fuentes del Trampal, Montánchez (Cáceres); Web: www.balnearioscaceres.com/trampal.html and Web: http://fuentesdeltrampal.com
In the Badajoz province the following three:
OUTDOOR THEATER and EVENTS
The 15,000-seat Roman Amphitheater in Merida is used during the summer for
performances.
For nineteen years the WOMAD Festival (World of Music, Arts and Dance) has been
held in Caceres. It is free and open to public. See the Web site for details: http://womad.org/festivals/caceres
Cheese lovers can attend the International Cheese Fair held in Trujillo in May
SHOPPING
At the Centre for the Promotion of Handicrafts in Caceres you can find crafts by
local artisans. Centre for the Promotion of Handicrafts, Calle San Anton,
Caceres.
HISTORICAL
The city of Merida, the capital of the region is said to have the most abundant
and best preserved Roman ruins in all of Spain which have been designated as
UNESCO world heritage sites including a 15,000 seat amphitheater- still used in
the summer - as well as the 1st century AD Temple of Diana and a plethora of
other ruins, mosaics, and treasures.
The Cuevas de Maltravieso (Maltravieso Caves) date back to the late Paleolithic period with cave
paintings estimated to be 23,000 years old. The caves are on the edge of the
city of Caceres. The caves themselves are closed to the public, but there is a
visitor center - The Centro de Interpretacion - with information and artifacts. You can walk to the caves from the city
center or take the #5 bus. The Center is open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am
to 2:30 pm and Sunday from 9:15 am to 2:30 pm; Tel: 927 010 877; Web: http://maltravieso.rupestre.org
Museum of Cheese (Museo del Queso), C/ Barrionuevo Bajo, 7, Casar de Caceres (just north of Caceres); Tel: 927
290 081; Email: museo_quesocasar@yahoo.es; Open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 am
to 2:00 pm/5:00 to 7:00 pm, Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The city of Zafra, south of Badajoz and Merida, en route to Sevilla, is often
referred to as little Seville. It has a Parador hotel in a restored 15th
century castle and many other structures from that period – it is living history.
In Badajoz visit the well-preserved 12th century Alcazaba castle complete with
towers and gardens.
SACRED
There is a Black Madonna at the Monastery of Guadalupe - east of Caceres and
Trujillo - which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can tour
the Monastery from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm/3:30 to 6:30 pm. Entry fee is 4 euros.
Web: www.monasterioguadalupe.com. You can also stay in one of the forty-seven rooms in the restored cloisters,
now the Sanctuary Hotel.
Almost sixty miles west of Caceres on the outskirts of the town of Valencia de
Alcantara you can find over forty dolmens - follow the signs to see the
megaliths.
WILD and NATURAL
The Parque Natural de Monfragüe, covering almost 45,000 acres, is home to one of the largest forests in Spain
and boasts over 1400 species of trees and a wonderful array of birds. See the Web site for a variety of walking route suggestions. Web: www.monfrague.com
The Jerte Valley produces half of the cherries grown in Spain. You can find them
blossoming at the end of March and beginning of April and the fruit ready in
June.
Extremadura is home to something in the range of 11,000 storks so you can see
stork nests throughout the wild and in the cities.
Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Spain --
Winner Treehugger’s BEST of GREEN 2010 Award for Best Guidebook