South of Guadalupe, we found this Via Verde called Via Verde Vegas del Guadiana, which leads from the river Guadiana north through rice fields and the dehesa landscape – pastures with oak trees. It is a 57km long track between Villanueva del la Serena and Logrosán. This railway was not even completed before the project was abandoned. We had cycled the northern part of this line, which is called Via Verde de la Jara and starts at Calera y Chozas crossing the Tajo river. (Our post of the VV de la Jara)
After spending the night at the Madrigalejo train station, which is about midway, we started from there, so we had only 27 km to the end at Logrosán. The track is a straight line with not many surprises, but you get to experience the endless dehesa from the bike.
After a rainy day on the bike we did some washing at Don Benito and then arrived at Medellín, a small town at the river Guadiana, which has a medieval bridge, a castle and a roman theatre on offer.
Hernán Cortés , born in 1485 in Medellín, was the Spanish Conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile.
From Medellín it was just 42km along the river to Mérida, where the roman left many traces in and around town. More on our next post!