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On a seven-day bus trip through Extremadura, a wild, rugged corner of Spain snuggled against the Portuguese border, I fell in love with this land that gave birth to many of the conquistadors. Pizarro, Cortés, Balboa, and other conquerors fled this remote place of sweltering summers and sailed the oceans hoping for riches.
These ambitious, ruthless men, who “discovered” Peru, Mexico, and Panama, among other places, changed Extremadura, pouring their bounty into the region’s cities and building lavish palaces. Here in one of Spain’s least visited regions I found architecturally rich towns, a virtually untouched rural landscape, craggy mountainsides, and a smattering of hardy vineyards.
GUADALUPE In this tiny hillside town, I joined a tour in Spanish of the fortified Real Monasterio de Santa María de Guadalupe. I needed no translation to be awestruck by the treasures the monks had accumulated: paintings by El Greco, frescoes by Flanders, and vestments embroidered with precious stones.
Instead of following most visitors out of town after the 45-minute tour, I checked into the monks’ former infirmary, where the rooms are set around a 16th-century Gothic cloister. Knowing that the monastery has long been known for its food, I ordered a lunch of cold partridge salad and truffles. Two Franciscans dining at an adjacent table heard me debate about getting dessert and one advised, “You have to order either the chestnut pudding or the fig biscuit. This area is famous for its figs and chestnuts.” After relishing the pudding, I trekked for two hours along the Ruta de las Ermitas, a lovely forested path that passed some isolated old hermitages.
TRUJILLO A towering statue of Pizarro on horseback greeted me as I walked through the cafe- and palace-lined Plaza Mayor. The town also celebrates its favorite conquistador with a museum that re-creates his father’s 15th-century house and displays artifacts from the conquered Inca Empire. In the medieval quarter, I wandered the network of narrow, cobbled lanes where I passed the former mansion of Orellana, the first European to sail the length of the Amazon . At the far end of town atop the highest point sits an Arab-built Moorish castle. Here, I climbed the battlements for unbeatable views and explored the underground cisterns with their shadowy walkways.
Trujillo has palaces galore. One, built for Pizarro’s brother and his Inca wife (Pizarro’s daughter), presents elaborate carved images of them on the facade.
CÁCERES Seeing the maps and articles on Cáceres scattered across my lap, Estrella, a gray-haired woman sitting next to me on the bus, couldn’t help starting a conversation about her hometown. As we glimpsed its white-washed buildings in the distance, she said, “I don’t know who your guide is but if he’s a good one, he’ll take you to see the Aljibe.”
It turned out that one of the first stops Marco Mangut took me to was the Aljibe, the Arab cistern with its unique columns and arches - one of only two such structures remaining in the world. As he led me through the walled Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I glimpsed a man clad in black tights and a red satin-lined cape. Nearby, a woman wearing a long peasant dress pulled a burro while another dressed in a prim bonnet sat making lace doilies with bobbins. Mangut explained they were all part of Cáceres Evocado, a medieval event that coincides with the Classical Theater Festival each June. “They did a thorough study on 17th-century Cáceres to make this as close as possible to reality,” he said.
The Gothic and Renaissance noblemen’s dwellings give Cáceres much of its charm. But I was surprised by the contrast between the contemporary artworks on display and the centuries-old venues that held the exhibitions. The house of Diego de Cáceres y Ovando, now a military headquarters, is full of daggers, swords, and other weapons, but in an adjacent room, a temporary exhibit displayed experimental collage work. In another mansion, Toledo Moctezuma, pop art of RVs and delivery trucks hung below frescoes of Aztec emperors.
With so many sights to pack into the day, we had time only for a brief lunch at La Tapería, a tapas place that is part of Torre de Sande, a high-end restaurant housed in an ivy-clad 15th-century palace. At Mangut’s urging, I sampled morro, pig’s mouth boiled with paprika in tomato sauce. “Many people think we’re strange because we eat parts of the pig that you’d throw away,” said Mangut. I got past the curious crunch factor and ordered seconds of the nicely spiced snack.
MÉRIDA An hour from Cáceres, it’s not hard to envision the crowds cheering gladiators who battled tigers and bears in this town’s expansive amphitheater. Mérida was one of the Roman Empire’s most noteworthy colonies, Mangut said, the capital of the province of Lusitania. “In the 2d century A.D., it was even more important than Athens,” he said. Now, it has some of the best preserved Roman ruins around. I strolled across the Guadiana River on the original 2,600-foot-long stone bridge, the longest Roman bridge in the world. A walk through town revealed massive archways, temple columns, floor mosaics, and other ancient ruins steps from modern cafes, shops, and offices.
ZAFRA I was lucky to find myself in this whitewashed former Moorish stronghold during “de la luna al fuego,” an art and cultural festival celebrating the Golden Age with art exhibits, musical events, and special guided tours. After roaming the alleys, passing ornate iron balconies, tiled facades, and marble-columned doorways, I visited Bodegas Medina, a former 17th-century monastery where monks made olive oil and rented space to Jewish leather workers. It’s been a winery for a while and here I sampled three vintages, including a strong Cabernet. During the festival a dinner of codfish mashed with potatoes and eggs is served in the vaulted wine cellar. It was the monks’ favorite meal.
Jeanine Barone can be reached at jeanine.barone@gmail.com .
By Jeanine Barone