Not a sound in the night. When we say good morning to N+G we all claim to have seen the lynx, but then own up to both Nicks using the same brand of shower gel.

We cross the large bridge over the depleted waterway and join the main road towards Merida. It is mostly flat and straight as we pass more olive plantations, rather than the scattered woods we saw yesterday these are orderly groves wit trees varying in size from mature down to newly planted sprigs in the ground.

There are also extensive areas of rice, fruit bushes tomato houses and rye. In these two days we reckon we've seen just about every type of food except fish. Pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, olives, rice, fruits, vines, and thinking about it maybe they fish in the lakes. We even glimpse a couple of fields of sunflowers.

Reaching Merida we pass through the centre and see some of its Roman remains but there is nowhere to park. We find a spot for lunch just out of town by the river on what looks to be an area marked out for market stalls. While we are eating a Dutch van pulls up and the driver remembered us meeting in San Sebastian.

The last leg takes us along a smooth dual carriageway to the camperstop at Zafra where we get the last two marked pitches minutes before three French vans arrive in convoy followed by five or six more through the afternoon, but the all manage to park in other areas of the carpark.

We laugh as the three Frenchmen traipse to and fro the service point with jerries and watering cans to fill their posh motorhomes instead of parking on the point and using a hose. But the biggest laugh is when they finish watering, they drive over to drop their grey water. Having had their exercise, up coe the sat-dishes and on go the TVs, from what we see through the windows shopping channels are favourite.

Ali and Grete pop in for a quick recce before we settle in for the night.