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Published: October 22nd 2017
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Geo: 39.4891, -6.41298
On our last full day in Aranjuez (Tuesday) we stayed close to 'home', had coffee and Jaffa cakes over a natter with Dorothy and Eric during the morning. Then, after lunch we walked from the site through some of the formal gardens of the Palacio Real which must have been very grand in their heyday. In the intense heat of the day, the trees provided some welcome shade.
We chose not to go round the interior of the Palace for which there is an entrance fee, but from outside it looks very grand, although it is free of charge to wander the extensive grounds and confines as we did. Not that that swayed our decision, you understand!
Back at the 'van, another invite to join Dorothy and Eric this time for a glass of wine and nibbles 'before dinner'. This started at 6pm when we talked and talked and talked effortlessly until before we knew it it was dark and nigh on 9pm. We were also due to leave the following morning, so decided if was then too late to start dismantling the awning, so had a quick omelette with salad then bed with the alarm set to do the packing
up the following morning. So much for best laid plans and all of that - there's been much of that throughout the trip which is quite alien to our normal approach to holidays and life in general. It will be interesting to see how we cope back home.
On Wednesday, after farewells with Dorothy and Eric (they were heading in the opposite direction to meet up with long-standing friends at a site in Benidorm) we hit the road once again. A short way into our journey, we somehow ended up on the wrong road. The satnav took us one way correlating with a legitimate road on the map book and then gave instructions to turn right, but there was no 'right' - just a field - and she was then totally confused, as was I. However, we followed the road through a small town and eventually got onto another road which headed in the intended direction and we were then on the right track. I was not flavour of the month with himself, as you can imagine.
The road was of excellent quality yet again, and not busy, with just a small toll section costing no more than 3€, but the scenery
was mile after mile of flat, virtually barren landscape. Near to our destination of Cacares, this changed slightly, but not greatly, as we drove through the National Park of Monfrague. Perhaps there is more to see if you venture further from the highway, though I have read that it is a natural habitat for vultures and other bird life.
We found Camping Cacares with no problem, which is rather lacking in character, but its unique selling point is that each pitch has its own cabin which houses in effect a wet room complete with shower, loo and basin - we have never encountered such facilities before, but a welcome change from the usual ablution block. It seems to be a popular stop en-route being central and at the crossroads for several popular destination areas, so I would not imagine it would appeal to the long stay clientele. However, we have a couple of places on the list to visit in this historic area before we move on to Portugal on Sunday.
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