I returned to the museum to see the last parts and, arriving
just after it opened, I had the place to myself.
I tried to find a book in English about Merida and/or its mosaics but without
success. The museum shop was closed and was likely to be for a year or more.
The shop at the amphitheatre/theatre had nothing except for a small booklet. It
was suggested that I checked a few shops down the road. I had seen them before
and they weren’t displaying any books. There was however a mosaic shop, Mithra
Mosaics, that was open and I went in to see the owner. She spoke no English and
I speak no Spanish but she indicated that she made all of the mosaics on
display in the Roman manner and even collected the marble from a Roman quarry a
few kilometres away. I explained that I was also a mosaicist and she gave me a
guided tour of her mosaics and the reproduction Roman jewellery that she also
made.
Walking back to the aire, I stopped at the tourist information office where
there was also a small exhibition about Roman life in Augusta Emerita and Roman
life in general. Small but beautiful, it was very interesting and very well
presented with information boards in Spanish and English. I particularly
enjoyed the interactive video with Marcus Gavius Apicius, the Roman gourmet who
produced a famous cookbook. The video character beckoned me over and invited me
to ask one of a set of questions by pressing a button. The answers were
fascinating, especially the complex process of serving wine that involved large
amounts of honey and spices. The exhibition was excellent, really interesting
and informative. I can’t help asking myself why Bath, a very important Roman
site in Britain, couldn’t do the same thing. The answer, of course, is money
and the importance given to history and tourism.
Merida is a wonderful place to visit if you are at all interested in history
and archaeology. We were very impressed by the city and would highly recommend
people to visit.
We set off for an aire at Luciana near Ciudad Real. There were long, straight
roads on the plain but with an early surprise - paddy fields. We hadn’t
realised that Spain produced rice but there were many flooded fields ready for
rice. Then there were olive trees and miles and miles of fruit trees. There
were very few villages, just a scattering of fruit processing buildings. We
arrived at the aire in Luciana only to find that the parking area was full of
weeds and a sign at the entrance told us that the aire had been closed down.
Consulting our ‘All the Aires of Spain and Portugal’ book from Vicarious Books,
Jane found another aire in Valdepenas, about another hour further on.
Olive groves had taken over from fruit trees and they dominated the views left
and right. We passed a massive olive processing facility set well back from the
road but the olive aroma wafted through the van.
We arrived at the aire in Valdepenas that is set in an industrial estate, not
quite the same as the village of Luciana. There we would have taken a stroll
around the village streets and park but this aire was quiet and would provide a
good stop for the night.
Photos: The Charioteers Mosaic; Detail of one of the charioteers; The Scenes of
the Nile mosaic; The huge Boar Hunt mosaic – the figurative centre; The
geometric design above; And the geometric design below; Some of the mosaics in
the Mithra Mosaics shop.
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