12.2 miles
Took a taxi back to Carcaboso—a depressing town!!
Stunning walk. Beautiful day. Area around River Jerte has a microclimate with more rainfall than average. This makes the vegetation lusher and greener.
We walked along a combination of farm roads and dirt paths, many of them old Roman roads, and through very green pastures with cattle grazing and stunning dehesas with large granite boulders. There were willows, poplars and hawthorn trees along our route and views of a snow covered peak to the northeast.
We suddenly found ourselves looking at a well-preserved section of Roman road and a minute later at the 1st C Arch of Caparra (the only surviving arch in Spain that is quadrifont i.e. has 4 pylons and doors).
Caparra was a medium sized Roman town which was right on the original Via de la Plata. It declined in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Other than the arch, there are no standing structures. However, the site is quite atmospheric (especially as we had it mostly to ourselves with the exception of one couple who arrived after we did and were eating their lunch); lots of olive trees and the footings of many structures, as well as well-preserved sections of the major roads.
Raul had agreed to pick us up at 3:30 at the gate to the site (cars are not allowed in the area of the Arch). We suddenly discovered that the gate (the only exit to the road) was locked! Fortunately (by knocking on various doors of the information center that said ”no admission”), I was able to find a caretaker to let us out! Phew!
We returned to Plasencia and stocked up on cookies and did some more exploring!