Day 10: Salamanca and Caceres to Cordoba

It was good to be on the doorstep of Salamanca. I was parked on the edge of the old city by 8 am.

This, regrettably, had to be a fleeting visit. I was almost half-way through my tour and if I was to maintain a reasonable schedule I had to be near Gibraltar over the next 2 days. This meant a gargantuan effort today.

 

 

I couldn't spare much more time than seeing the beautiful Cathedral and Plaza Major and obtaining a new memory card for my camera which cost me £40 (available normally for £15 anywhere else)!

The next visit was to the Pena de Francia mountain and its monastery. Winding up past mountain goats...

  

...through and above cloud...

 

...to 1,732 meters...

...and its reclusive monastery and sanctuary.

 

The views were simply superb on this now clear day.

Next the Sanctuario de Monfrague just the other side of Plasencia! Looking down onto the Embalse de Alcantara where I had stopped for a brief sunbathe and snack, a little earlier, and snapped an eagle.

Numerous vultures soared along this mountain ridge in search of their next meal.

Then onto Caceres

Storks nested precariously on the sides of the bell towers of the Jesuit church (the white building)

And finally to Cordoba. The roads in Extramadura were patched and generally potholed and grubby, but you quickly became accustomed to it. However the instant your front tyres moved onto Andalucian territory, the roads become perfectly black and perfectly smooth. There is great competition between the regions and also great differences in their wealth and how that's manifest. 

I spotted the first UK registered car since passing Santander on this stretch of road. A flash of my hazard warning lights and a responding flash of their headlights, as I overtook, cemented national unity!

I skirted round the City as the sun was setting. I just wanted a place to sleep now! I found a site at La Carlota, 10 miles to the south, pitched and disappeared straight into my sleeping bag!

429 gruelling miles, the most arduous yet, but it had to be done. Gibraltar was on the cards for tomorrow!