When we awake here in Arecena the sun is shining again and there is a clear blue sky, a pleasant 17°C when we breakfast. We walk into the town (5 minutes’ walk) to find the Gruta de las Marrevillas caves. Aracena is a small white town built around the Castillo which on top of a conical rocky hill. We discover the caves are a system of passages running like a rabbit warren under the castle, there are kilometres of them filled with pools and rock formations, so we take a tour.

The tour lasts an hour and must be the best cave formations we have seen. The stalactites and stalagmites are breath-taking in the size, colour and beauty. The pools of water are deep and still and some extensive. It is easy to let one’s imagination run away and I found myself thinking of Huck Fin and Tom Sawyer trying to escape from In’jun Joe in similar kinds of caves. In another the water was clear and deep and reflected back a ‘lost city’. It was of course just a reflection of what was above the water. Out again into the brilliant sunshine, now the day is hot with a clear blue sky.

We explore the shops, buy some trinkets to take home, including terracotta jugs and urn for the garden. We also explore the Jamon and cheese shops, as this is a great area for Iberico ham and goat and sheep cheese. We buy a good stock of goat and sheep cheese. From Aracena we drive 160km to Mérida, first on the N-433, and then the E-803 north the Mérida. Here we park on a central car park with an area of 12 spaces set aside for motor homes, cost of €12 per 24 hours. There is fresh water, grey and toilet cassette disposal and hook-up for electricity (which we don’t use as it is another €3.50), there is also a toilet a short walk away but we don’t use it.

First job is to empty the toilet cassette as it is full, not much more will fit in and we remind ourselves that we did not empty it at Villafranca because there was hardly anything in! Then there was no cassette-emptying facility at Seville, so now we must empty it. We notice a city bus service area in the middle of the camp site but don’t take too much notice of it. There are already six campers here, so we park up on the end, there is no shade and it is very hot, about 34°C. It is hard to stay cool as there is no breeze and no shade. We sit out on our chairs in the shade of the camper and enjoy the cool of the evening. I go to bed and I am drifting off to sleep when, at around 10.50, I hear what sounds like a dozen heavy trucks about to drive between us and the next camper. We have all the windows open as it is hot, but the heavy vehicles sound like they are right on top of us. I look out of the window and they are.

There are about five or six city single decker buses lined up outside the service station, engines running and drivers out banging on the service station door. I realise they are bringing their cash boxes in at the end of their shift. They shout and yell to one another over the din of their bus engines. There goes all chance of any sleep. Mr C. is fast asleep beside me and does not move. How can anyone sleep through this? He does. It goes on for half an hour and then they all finally park up and it goes quiet around 23.30. I am now wide awake and it takes me an age to go to sleep.

This looks like a good stopping place, but the din from the busses makes it a poor choice, we just have to put it down to experience, sometimes we don’t get what we want.