Extremadura

Geography. Extremadura is crossed by two important rivers, the Tagus and the Guadiana, but you wouldn't know it. Except for the hills and mountains which form its northern boundary and the Sierra Morena which separates it from Andalusia, Extremadura is a dry, flat tableland, largely given over to cereal and tobacco farming; vines and olives are also grown. It also includes sizeable areas of dehesa, a sparse woodland typical of this part of Spain, especially, and characterized by being semi-natural, managed land, particularly used for pasture. This dehesa is where two of Spain's most representative animals are raised: the hogs from which the country's famous cured hams are made, and fighting bulls. Being semi-natural, it is also of great interest to naturalists and birders, for whom Extremadura is something of a pilgrimage destination, particularly the Parque Natural de Monfragüe in Cáceres.

Extremadura for Visitors. The appeal of Extremadura's tremendous outdoors and the flora and fauna that inhabit them is complemented by its enchanting villages and towns, places like Plasencia with its two cathedrals, or Trujillo, birthplace of the conquistador Pizarro. Note that distances between centres of population are larger than you might expect, because Badajoz and Cáceres are the largest and second-largest provinces in Spain, respectively, and sparsely populated to boot, with not much over a million inhabitants altogether. To make matters worse, except for the most important roads, communications are inadequate. Also, the fact that a place is marked on the map does not mean you will find amenities when you get there: Extremadura has municipalities, not hamlets but actual boroughs, with as few as a couple of hundred inhabitants.

Practical Extremadura

Eating and Drinking. Extremaduran cuisine is, as you would expect, related to that of its neighbour, New Castile. The Extremaduran tourist board suggests a number of gastronomic routes, each based around one particular foodstuff or ingredient: Iberian ham, sheep's cheese, lamb, cold dishes, game, oil (olive, I presume), kid (goat, I presume), paprika, goat's cheese, tench, fruit and spirits, wine and fresh-water fish. In addition, and according to the late Nestor Lújan (Libro de la Cocina Española, 1970), "The cuisine of Extremadura is serious, deep and austere, as suits the country. These are its great, pastoral, peasant, and game dishes." The list is longish, and includes the following: caldereta de cordero, a lamb stew; perdiz al modo de Alcántara con criadillas de tierra, partridge braised with truffles (also applied to other game birds like pheasant); chorizos, paprika sausages; jamones de Montánchez; gazpacho extremeño, a cold soup not unlike gazpacho andaluz, but with more ingredients (the term is also applied to a kind of chicken stew); pata de cabrito al estilo de Badajoz, kid goat roasted with white wine and garlic; el frito (which I have not quite been able to identify, but think is something fishy); la cachuela, a chitterling stew; cocido extremeño, a stew of chickpeas, meat and sausage, not unlike the cocido madrileño, the main difference being that in the Extremaduran version the meat is lamb.

Most wine produced in Extremadura corresponds to the newish denominación de origen, , but this has a number of different subzones and the wines vary. A little wine is also produced by a single, even newer cooperative in the Sierra de Gata, near Plasencia in Cáceres: I know no more.

Getting There. Extremadura is normally reached from Madrid. By bus: AutoRes connects Extremadura with several buses a day, the journey to Cáceres taking four to five hours and to Badajoz a little longer. By train: prices of tickets to Extremadura are only slightly higher than bus fares, but the journey is slightly slower. By car: take the R-5 and A-5 from Madrid, and at Trujillo, the N-V and the N-521 for Cáceres, or keep straight on for Badajoz. By air: you would have to be swimming in it to get the plane to Badajoz - fares from Madrid start at around 160 €.

Getting Around. Distances are largish, and buses not very good, so it is a good idea to have wheels. A long section of the Vía de la Plata runs through Extremadura, suitable for walking or mountain-biking, not conventional road bikes.

Elsewhere on the Net - Selected Links

Cities of Estremadura
Cities of Extremadura - Caceres, Mérida, Badajoz, Plasencia, Trujillo and Guadalupe. Selected, annotated links.

Extremadura - from All About Spain
A first-rate, though less than exhaustive guide to the region from All About Spain.

Extremadura - Tourism Guide
From the regional government. Easy to follow and informative, not bad at all for one of the less prosperous regions of Spain. The English becomes less steady on its feet the further in you get, of course.

Jerte Valley Best of the Net
The lovely Valle del Jerte in the north of Extremadura, near Plasencia, is so unspoilt we almost don't want to tell you about it. It is worth visiting at any time of year, but especially remarkable when the cherry trees blossom (usually the second half of March). This is a truly excellent website, unfortunately only in Spanish, with complete information and plenty of photographs.