Sta. Eulalia Obelisk and Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Sta. Eulalia Obelisk

   Eulalia was about twelve years old, the story goes, when she walked into the governor's court in Emerita Augusta and told him to his face that his gods were worthless. This was in the year 304, under the persecutions of Diocletian, and what followed made her the patron saint of Mérida. She was tortured and killed, and the city built a shrine over her grave that grew, over the centuries, into one of the great pilgrimage places of Roman and Visigothic Spain. The obelisk in the centre of town, a tall granite shaft by the old basilica quarter, is a reminder that devotion to her goes back to the days when Mérida was a provincial capital and the road north was the Via de la Plata.

   Read the complete Sta. Eulalia Obelisk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sta. Eulalia Obelisk is where the day begins. Next is Old Town of Cáceres.

2. 2. Old Town of Cáceres

   Cáceres has an old town so complete that film crews treat it as a ready-made set, and walking its streets at dusk, when the stone glows amber and the crowds have gone, you can see why. Inside the walls, built largely by the Almohads in the twelfth century, are dozens of fortified mansions, towers, churches and palaces, many built by noble families who made their fortunes in the conquest of the Americas. The towers once had battlements, but Queen Isabella ordered most of them cut down to curb the nobles' power. UNESCO listed the old town in 1986.

   Read the complete Old Town of Cáceres write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Old Town of Cáceres comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup.

3. 3. Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup

   Planning note

   about 212 km into the recorded legs you reach Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup. Next is back through Old Town of Cáceres.

4. 4. back through Old Town of Cáceres

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Old Town of Cáceres write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Old Town of Cáceres, late in the day. Next is Sta. Eulalia Obelisk, 102 km on.

5. 5. Sta. Eulalia Obelisk

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sta. Eulalia Obelisk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Sta. Eulalia Obelisk. That is the ride.