Day 9 Mérida to Alcuéscar – 38km

Originally, I had planned to stay in Mérida for two nights, but I decided to reorganize my bookings to make the days shorter. This wasn’t easy, as trying to book accommodation in advance and often complicates things. To adjust, I chose to cut my stay in Mérida short. Early this morning, I left and began my journey to Alcuéscar.

After finding my way out of the city, passing the Roman aqueduct, the route followed the main road for about 5 kilometers before leading into a lovely park with a huge lake. I noticed two guys who had spent the night fishing—they had a tent set up by the lake. They must have been curious about what a hiker was doing there at such an hour! The trail continued along a small country lane for another 5 kilometers until I spotted a Camino marker stone on the side of the road. While this wasn’t unusual, I decided to double-check my app to ensure I was still on track. The last time I’d checked was probably an hour earlier. To my relief, I discovered I had just passed the route I needed to take—a small track through the rough pasture. Thankfully, I caught it in time; otherwise, I might have walked a few more kilometers before realizing my mistake.

It's a shame the guys making the steps didn't use a spirit level!

I passed through a couple of villages before entering another natural park, which featured a wide dirt path winding through the countryside and crossing a river, a stretch that lasted about 15 kilometers. Along the way, I started to see other pilgrims who had begun their journey from one of the villages I’d passed. I greeted them as I walked. Eventually, I met a friendly guy named Ben from Denmark, and we continued together, chatting as we walked to our destination. Ben has lived in Málaga, Spain, for the past 20 years and has been doing Caminos for most of that time.

Although I cut short my time in Mérida, I now have two shorter days planned ahead, which should make things more manageable.