Zamora to Alcantara

Today we spent our last full day in Alcantara. The town is famous for its first century Roman bridge, reportedly one of the greatest in the Roman Empire. Since we drove across it, we can confirm that it was made to last! If you zoom in on the marble over the doorway of the chapel you can see Trajan Caesar Aug carved into it as if it were yesterday. Standing on the other side of the river one can make out the outlines of a once impressive stone city with all of its terraces, fields, walls, and fortifications, which has now shrunk to a small agricultural center that is down on its luck and little visited.

We are staying in a restored convent where we also had lunch. We were lucky to run into an intelligent English-speaking guide who led us through a palace-church used by one of the famous medieval military orders. The spiral is the staircase in its tower. Learned a lot about the Crusades against the Moors. Always nice to get off the tourist trail and receive personal tours like this! Stay tuned for our wrap-up tomorrow, including the all-important trip highs and lows...Read more