26-Feb-2017 -- This is the fourth out of six reports reaching confluence points during a bicycle trip from Lisbon to Ciudad Real. The story starts at 39°N 9°W and continues from 39°N 7°W.
After crossing the border into Spain near Badajoz, I continued cycling without major breaks until I reached the UNESCO town Merida with its famous Acueducto de los Milagros, the ruins of a Roman aqueduct which has now become a popular nesting place for storks. Here I had a late but giant lunch – enough energy to reach the confluence point.
I followed a parallel road to the motorway A-5 and for the last 8 km I took the road N-430 until I reached the village Santa Amalia in less than 1 km from the confluence point. Heading south on EX-206 took me within 150 m to the confluence. A turnoff right at the confluence gets within 70 m. The rest is walking over a meadow with short grass, flowers and sizzles.
Although my visit was quick, the owners of the meadow had arrived when I was about to return. “Oh, oh”, I thought, this might be troublesome. But it turned out that the owners were a very friendly couple. They were interested in my doing. As far as I could in Spanish, I tried to explain the concept of confluencing and informed them that they could be proud owners of an integer degree confluence point.
I continued cycling for another 1.5 hours and spent the night in the town Villanueva de la Serena.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance to a road: 150 m
- Distance to a track: 70 m
- Distance of bicycle parking: 70 m
- Time to reach the CP from Merida: 90 minutes
- Time at the CP: 5:36 PM
- Measured height: 255 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
- Position accuracy: 2 m
- Topography: flat, but hills nearby
- Vegetation: short grass, flowers and sizzles.
- Weather: partly cloudy, 17° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Nice Couple Confluence
The story continues at 39°N 5°W.