Just as days started to get warmer, it was our time to leave Spain. Like always, our vacation ended up too fast. In order to gain some energy for the 18-hour trip back home, we deliberately spent the last day relaxing and pampering our bellies with delicious local food. For lunch, we roasted a kid leg in the big “horno” in the garden, together with some classic salad plate.

Roasted leg of kid – cabrito asado in Spanish…

… and a plate of summer vegetables.

After lunch we all had some Spanish siesta – including our little doggie

Just before leaving for Burgos, we managed to pay a visit to yet another beauty of northern Extremadura: Alcántara, a town on the Tajo riverside, and its imposing Roman bridge from the 2nd century AD. Built in the honour of Trajan, the Roman Emperor who was born in Hispania Baetica (Hispania = modern Iberia, Baetica = a part of modern Andalucia), this 71m high and 194m long bridge consists of six symmetrical arches and it used to bear the Roman road from Norba (Cáceres) to Conimbriga (Condeixa-a-Velha, Portugal).
The name of the town has Arab origins: al Qantarat means a bridge.

The Roman bridge of Alcántara

On the bridge

A little temple on the other side of the bridge.
“May it last as long as the world will last”, words of Caius Iulius Lacer -the architect-
chiselled out on the façade.  Seems the world isn’t ending anytime soon …

Tajo river

Nearby the bridge there is a hydroelectric power plant

Alcántara is a small town (cca 1600 inhabitants) with a rich history. Besides the Roman bridge, there can be found also the remainings of arab walls. In 12th century, the plains of Extremadura were a a great field of conflict between Muslims and Christians. That’s when the religious/military Order of Alcántara was founded as a defense against the Moors.

Notice the green cross of the Order of Alcántara
Town square

The building which once served as the residence of the Order of Alcántara now belongs to the Foundation of San Benito. You will find it behind the convent. Everything was closed due to late hours, so we couldn’t enter any place – which didn’t stop me from taking some nice snapshots from outside.

If you visit Alcántara during summer, you will be able to attend the theatre festival which takes place here
San Benito convent

San Benito convent – back part

The entrance door of the Foundation of San Benito

Local pottery, including the Spanish “botijo”. This thing deserves a Nobel

A “museum” by the road on the way to Alcántara.

And here our trip comes to an end. Again, it was not easy to return back home. However, we had a great time and I brought with me some hundreds of photos which will certanly remind me that we have to come back soon again. There’s still so much more left to explore that I can hardly wait for it.
¡Hasta pronto, España!