Driving down from Puerto de Honduras, we were relieved when we had left the burned down area. On this side of the mountains, not the cherry but the chestnuts dominated the vegetation.
Just outside Hervás, we found a lovely spot for the night and to our surprise, a market with music, food and drinks was already in full swing.
The next day, we walked into town and when we saw a Churreria van, breakfast was settled. Once in a while, a bag of churros is a nice treat for us. At the tourist information, we got detailed instructions which route to take, and so we set off to explore the Jewish part of Hervás.
The typical houses have a ground level built from stone, and the upper levels constructed with timber frames. It was the first time that we saw the usage of roof tiles for some walls.
At the end of the Middle Ages, Hervás was the centre of a large Jewish community, whose members were forced to convert to Christianity or leave the country as a result of the Alhambra Edict in 1492.
The parish church of Santa María, built in the 17th century, stands on the site of a former medieval castle on the highest point of the town.
In the afternoon, we took the bikes and, starting from the old train station of Hervás, followed the Via Verde “Ruta de la Plata” up into the mountains.
After leaving Hervás, we stopped at Baños de Montemayor, to use another free camper service and went to look for a piece of the Roman road, which is known as the Via de la Plata. The name actually derives from the Arabic word al-balat, which means cobbled paving and described the road as engineered by the Romans. What we found was the reconstruction of a column with Roman inscription.
Instead of following the Via de la Plata, we drove west to the Batuecas – Sierra de Francia Natural Park, where we want to go on a hike tomorrow.
More about this park follows soon!