Roman Bridge At Alcantara

We got this far off the beaten path--within meters of Portugal--because of my long-standing desire to see the great Roman bridge at Alcantara. It is not the greatest of Roman engineering feats, not even of those still functioning. It is a stone arch bridge, 600 feet long, 230 feet above the gorge of the Tegas river, wide enough for tractor-trailers to pass each other. And they do, since it is still rated with a capacity of 50-some tons. What is significant about the bridge at Alcantara, ordered by Trajan in 98AD, is the inscription by its architect, Caius Julius Lacer: Pontem perpetui mansurum in saecula, "I have built a bridge that will last forever." That speaks volumes to us dilettante classicists, especially those with 4 years of high school Latin. It is also a great statement of Roman engineering and architecture, and attitude.

The terrain around Alcantara, for miles and miles, was some of the most unusual
we have seen: rolling green hills, but strewn with humongous boulders and rock
out-croppings, polished, often suggesting the passage of a glacier or ice-field

The bridge at Alcantara

Wider view

From the other shore; note the dam in the background; it's a pretty big one,
perhaps a mile up-river; I hope it lasts forever too...

Roman temple and road in the background

Me driving across the bridge (Vicki would not set foot on it)

Marcus presents: the Roman bridge at Alcantara, its triumphal arch and inscriptions

Here, many miles in another direction, more of same boulder-strewn terrain

Caceres

Well into the Extremadura now, we stopped at Caceres for some provisioning at the Carrefours and for some skyping at the McDs. A little research suggested Caceres was well worth a longer stop. The free camper-stop was full, but we parked in an over-flow area and moved to the regular area the next day. The next night the camper-stop had 34 vehicles parked, legally, less legally, and otherwise. But the police are usually very tolerant at this time of the year. Caceres has the usual Spanish pedigree: paleolithic settlement, cave paintings, "founding" by the Romans in 25BC, Visigoths, Moors, Reconquista, etc. It is yet another World Heritage Site, largely in view of its well-preserved walled town, often a movie set, which shows little external evidence of development past the 16th century. We did an evening stroll, sticking our heads into churches, artists' coops, restaurants, palazzos, etc., finally ending up at the plaza, where most of the populace appeared to be on this Saturday evening.

A bit of the camper-stop at Caceres; the legal bit

Many great old buildings in the old town,
Moorish and Renaissance especially

Inside one of the churches

One of many towers about town

In the artists' coop

Another church

Interior services

Another Renaissance building and tower

Nearby, a convent

Interesting ceramics on the roof

Street scene

Wall and tower, valley and mountains

So eventually we found our way to the plaza, where
everyone else was; a dragon has just landed

One of Spain's many less-heralded plazas, the town's living
room, nonetheless

Somewhere in my reading of or about Cervantes, I had come
across migas, a beggar's dish of bread crumbs cooked in oil
and maybe flavored with garlic or whatever else was about
to be thrown away; we had seen it on several restaurant
menus, and when we got to the plaza, I had to try it; alas,
this is not the beggar's version; but the jamon and huevos
were good; and my curiosity regarding migas is now
satisfied

Strolling back to the camper-stop

Merida

We could have stayed longer in Seville--who couldn't?--but were beginning to look at the calendar and to think about France and then the UK and beyond. So we decamped and headed north and west, continuing our circuit, to Merida, site of some of Spain's best Roman remains.

Caesar Augustus welcomes you to one of his many cities,
Augusta Emerita, now Merida

Which celebrates its Roman heritage

We parked somewhat legally, half on the curb, Vicki stayed
with the camper (she claims to have seen enough Roman
things for a while), and I walked along the beautiful river
front park to get a view of

The originally-Roman fortress, improved by the Visigoths
and Moors

Thus

And particularly Merida's very long Roman bridge, still in
use; must be half a kilometer at least

The respect given the ruins in Merida is impressive

Here's a huge state office building sitting entirely on stilts
above the forum

Thus

Not far away, remains of the aquaduct

Thus

And thus; note stork nests, which are everywhere in Spain,
the national bird)

Thus

We skipped the coliseum and amphitheater--Merida is not particularly RV-friendly, so far as we could tell--and continued our circuit.

For Tawana

We never miss one of your shoppes and are always taking pix for you...

Are you documenting your work?

Seville Tiles

Tiles are all over this part of the world--particularly great in Portugal--but I was struck with the number commercial and other uses in Seville...

Six different tiled portals on this touriste
shoppe 

The rest looked like this

Billboard

Beautiful entry

Farmacia

Architect's signature, under the balcony

1929

Bar Europa

Heritage use; not one of his best-sellers

Butcher

Baker

Somebody's casa

Entrance to an ordinary-looking apartment
building (it was the same in Dos Hermanas,
20 miles away, where our campground was...)

Could someone do this in tile, please?