Camino Day 9 - Ansião to Conimbriga

Saturday, September 3rd, was another long, hot day of walking (@ 20.5 miles) with a number of challenging hills and lots of Roman roads as we continued our journey to Santiago. Our destination today, Conimbriga, is the site of the largest and best-preserved Roman settlement in Portugal. The Romans arrived here in 139 BC, but excavations on the site have also unearthed Iron Age remains from the 9th century BC. What history lies underground and what stories might be told!

We left Ansião before dawn, walking an hour or so with only the light of our headlamps. By the time the sun was coming up, we had climbed our first steep hill and had a panoramic view of the sunrise, stopping for a minute to not only take pictures, but to also ponder the beauty and wonder of God’s world.

Sunrise over Ansião 

We’re using John Brierly’s book Camino Portugués to see not only the towns we’ll be passing through each day (and where there might be cafes for a quick cup of coffee and a bite to eat), but also to get an idea of the terrain and elevation ahead of us. I have to say his elevation map for today’s walk did not prepare us for the number or length of the hills ahead of us. To be fair, when I look back at his elevation map of today’s route, the increments are in 1000 meters, rather than the 100 or 200 meter increments we’re used to seeing, so at first glance, the hills don’t look that steep or that long. Thankfully, although it was in the 80’s today and the sun felt quite hot, we had a fair amount of shade and nice breezes in the afternoon, alleviating some of the sun’s intensity.

       I don't know what the significance of a sewing 

    machine is to the small town of Netos, but I had to 

                 have my picture taken with it

Checking out the signage for the Fátima Camino

Speaking to a local woman about a tall growing        

vegetable crop we didn't recognize - she called it      

 cal verde - we decided it looked like kale             

Stamping our pilgrim's passports at a wayside pilgrim stop

We walked the last steep uphill climb into Conimbriga directly into Portugal's Roman Ruins National Monument. Besides the ruins themselves, there’s a museum and restaurant on the grounds. We stopped for a well- earned gelato while waiting for our taxi to take us back to Ansião. The taxi ride back can only be described as harrowing at best, as our driver seemed to be keeping his eyes on his cell phone rather than the road most of the time. We made it back safely with just enough time to shower and change before dinner. Tomorrow, we’ll take a taxi back to Conimbriga to continue our journey.