14.4 miles (elev. gain: 2277 ft)
Sunny (somewhat cloudy later in the day; although no rain was forecast, it did rain but we weren’t caught in it!)
Transition stage in the Sierra Bejar between Extremadura (which we are soon leaving) and the Meseta of Castile y Leon.
It is roughly 6 to 7 miles on or close to the N-630 from Aldenueva del Camino to Banos de Montemayor (pop. 769), at the foot of the Sierra de Gredos. The name ”Banos” comes from the 1st C Roman baths that were located here. The town was a ”mansio” (stop) on the original Via de la Plata.
We ate our sandwiches on a bench in the main square and tried unsuccessfully to visit the museum where the remains of the baths can be seen.
We then started the ascent to Puerto de Bejar (pop. 100) on a beautiful restored cobbled Roman road.
We left Extremadura and crossed into Castile y Leon on a short stretch of shaded, muddy lane with the sound of rushing water nearby.
We walked along a well-preserved section of the Calzada Romana lined with oak, chestnut, beech and ash.
A number of miliarios have been restored to their original positions along here and Stephen seemed intent on photographing each of them!
We crossed the largely original Roman Puente de Magdalena over the poplar-lined Rio Cuerpo de Hombre. (It is an attractive bridge but we felt no desire to go down to the river to get a picture.)
After the bridge, we walked along a path lined with ash and broom and lavender and with fields containing huge granite boulders on the left hand side and oaks lining the hillsides on our right hand side. There were occasional views of a snowy peak we later learned was Pinajarro near Hervas.
We had a final short climb up to La Calzada de Bejar (pop. 100), a rather depressing place.
It started to drizzle and I worried about getting wet. We sat on a bench in a main square opposite a bar (the bar owner tried to rent a room to us), so that I could call a taxi to take us back to Hervas, where we planned to stay the next three nights.
Hervas (pop. 4052), a pretty mountain town in Extremadura. It sits alongside the Ambroz River. There are large chestnut forests nearby and the traditional architecture makes great use of chestnut wood, sun dried brick and granite.
Jews started fleeing here from Castile in the 15th C. In 1492, when the expulsion order was issued, there were 45 Jewish families and a rabbi, occupying some of the best areas in town. They were forced to sell up for a pittance.
Today, the town boasts one of the best preserved Jewish quarters in Spain.
We plan to spend two nights in a little light-filled apartment (135 euros for 2 nights) near the old Jewish quarter. We will spend our last night in the town in a lovely little boutique hotel.
After depositing our backpacks, we went out to the tourist office and then to a fruit and vegetable store and a supermarket (where we bought laundry detergent for the washing machine!).