May 1, 2023. Caceres to Trujillo. Distance: 39 miles Elevation: 2,546

Another cool start to the day which didn’t last long, just long enough for our chilly descent from our hilltop town of Caceres. It quickly warmed up and now at 6:00pm is a balmy 84 degrees. The first 12ish miles were flat, flat, flat.

The 2nd 12ish miles were composed of a few very steep winding climbs up to the top and then the same very steep decents down the other side and repeat. No time for pics.

The 3rd 12ish miles were lovely rolling hills

until we got to the last few miles of up, up, up to our destination where we’re staying at Parador de Trujillo.

Lucky for us, this weekend (including today Monday May 1 since it’s May Day) the town was celebrating the 36th Feria del Queso or the Annual Trujillo National Cheese Festival! There are over 60 vendors and 300 different cheeses to sample. It’s the cheesemakers themselves who show off their varieties which are made using traditional methods and most all of them are handcrafted. We bought 8 tickets and tried 8 different cheeses.

One of the sights in the town square is the statue of conquistador Francisco Pizzaro who in 1533 conquered Peru and founded the city of Lima.

One thing I haven’t mentioned is the white storks of Spain. There are massive nests everywhere with young storklets poking out. They seem to be in every bell tower and tall posts.

Here are a few more stork photos I’ve taken over the last few days.