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After a miserable night with my nose and throat, it was very lucky that we were leaving on the 11 a.m. bus since I fell into a deep sleep at about six in the morning. When I woke, at least I was not sleep deprived, and packing up and walking to the bus station all went smoothly. Mérida had made the most of its heritage while continuing on as a modern city.
The walk over the bridge took less time than we had anticipated, so we had time to admire the display case of pottery in the centre of the waiting room. Soon we were on our way remarking how we had hit grape country and it was true – from the bus windows all we could see were olives or grapes, or olives and grapes in together. The freeway roundabouts were even planted with olive trees.
When we arrived we had the advantage of already having a map, but there were a few problems in the graphic having been oriented perhaps to fit the page and not the North South arrows. It didn’t matter, because we could match the street names and work out the difference, and the little bit of extra walking we did gave us a chance to find out where handy shops like a supermarket and bakery were situated. We found our hostel easily, but were a little surprised to see that the door was ajar, but chained shut with a padlock. We pressed the button and a very friendly woman came out and ushered us in. There is only one double room here, and since we were the only occupants, we were lucky enough to be given it. All the other rooms are dormitories. The facilities were excellent and there was a kitchen with a microwave and a lounge room for guests. We could have hot drinks anytime! We settled in and then wondered how we were to leave, given that the padlock was back on. It was a simple system, if a bit labour intensive, where we asked to be let out every time we left and to be let in when we returned.
We did a quick tour of the supermarket and the tourist office, and checked out the three internet possibilities. After a hot lunch, I was drowsy and also felt that I should be looking after myself a little bit if I was to overcome my cold. I went to bed for the afternoon. Keith went off to the Internet café.
In general, it is fine being back on the travelling track, but there are moments when I so miss human contact at a level beyond being served in shops. Maybe this is a more acute need now, having spent most of the time since July with family or friends. I miss Michel and Corine, whose warmth made our last weeks in
I was feeling much better later in the day and up to typing up a couple of days of blog, as well as looking in the dictionary to learn some Spanish words and phrases. When Keith returned he reported that a couch surfer in a valley we particularly wanted to visit had invited us to stay. Monica gave us a heater to use in our room and so we have been warm and cosy. We are looking forward to doing a walking tour of Zafra tomorrow, and then perhaps to a catch up and haircut day
The medieval Alcazar (castle) dominates the skyline of Zafra. We are looking forward to exploring it.
We are back in the land of the stork nest.
The sculpture above in Zafra is dedicated to blood donors.
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