The Romans, who were serious about hot water, found a warm spring at Alange in what is now Extremadura and built a bathing complex around it, and the place is still used today. The Roman baths, about twenty kilometres from Mérida, include a domed chamber with stone benches and a pool fed by the spring, and the water comes out pleasantly warm, a gift in a dry country. The baths date from the time when Mérida, then called Emerita Augusta, was one of the great cities of Roman Spain, and wealthy citizens would travel here to relax and be cured.
The setting is a small white town on a hill, below the ruins of a Moorish castle, overlooking a reservoir and a landscape of cork oak and holm oak, olive groves and open pasture. This type of woodland, called dehesa, shelters black Iberian pigs that feed on acorns, and the ham that comes from them is among the finest in the world. Cranes winter in the area, and storks nest on rooftops and church towers across the region. The sky is huge and the light in summer evenings is a warm gold.
Riding in Extremadura is generous and relaxed. Roads are quiet, wide and well surfaced, with long straights across the plain and gentle curves where they cross the hills, and in spring the fields are green and speckled with wildflowers. The summer heat is severe, with temperatures above forty degrees, so ride early or late, and drink plenty of water. Autumn brings mushrooms, acorn harvests and milder weather, and winter is cool but rarely harsh. Livestock can wander onto the road, especially in the dehesa, and storks sometimes land in the middle of nowhere.
Alange has a couple of cafés and bars and the spa itself, and Zarza de Alange nearby has a shop or two. For fuel, check at Guareña, about fifteen kilometres off, or head to Mérida, with its Roman theatre, amphitheatre and the high aqueduct, which is worth a stop on its own. Local food leans toward cured pork, migas and sheep's cheese, and you can finish with a slice of cake made from almonds. Bring swimming gear if you plan to use the baths, and check opening times first.