Friday 28st February 2025 – Caceres, Spain

 We had a relaxed start this morning as we had no stops planned on our route to Caceres, only three hours away. It would have been two and a half hours but we opted for the scenic route marked in green on our Michelin map. We started with a long drive up the wide Adejo Valley with hills on one side and, on the other side, mountains, some with a dusting of snow, probably as a result of the recent rain that we had in Avila. Many more storks, more large churches and small villages and red kites. For the second time, we saw vultures – a ‘committee’ of vultures on the ground and a ‘kettle’ of vultures circling above.
The valley narrowed and the road climbed through a series of passes until we entered the region of Extremadura. The quality of the roads that had been excellent up to then, definitely took a downward turn both literally and metaphorically. The road descended in a series of hairpin bends to follow the river Jerte into its valley. There were great views and the terraced valley sides were very picturesque. It turned out that this area was famous for its cherries and it was cherry trees that were planted on the terraces. The trees were bare at the moment but in a few weeks’ time, the blossom will be beautiful.
Just beyond Plasencia, we left the main E803 road heading for a viewpoint and castle on an island in a lake formed by the Tajo River. That was how is was shown on our map and the idea was to stop there for a late lunch but we failed to either the viewpoint or the castle. We stopped instead at a random derelict restaurant next to a railway line and eat lunch there.
Camping Caceres is one of those very rare campsites that provides a private toilet and shower for every pitch. When we unlocked out bathroom we found a table and two chairs for our use. The site also has excellent WiFi and a restaurant – all for €21 per night with the ACSI discount.
For the first time this holiday, we sat outside in the evening enjoying the sun and the 18C temperature. The warmer temperature had something to do with the drop in altitude – 459m here compared with 1182m. We were hoping for continued warmth but the weather forecast looked anything but encouraging.
Photos: The Jerte valley from the Mirador del Puente Becedas viewpoint; The terraced sides of the valley with the cherry trees; Our pitch at Camping Caceres.