Day 18 and the roman ruins at Conimbriga
We woke to glorious sunshine and even though the Portugal weather proved to be highly changeable, . and the weather forecast more hopeful than accurate, the sun stayed and made our exploration of the Roman ruins at Conimbriga very pleasant indeed.
The convoy set off and the road to the site was lush and heavily wooded. The rich blue sky beyond the stands of trees that fringed the roadside, lifted our spirts. Even the wind turbines that lined the horizon seemed to catch to joyful spirit of the day as they swept elegantly in the spring breeze.
The Roman ruins had only been discovered relatively recently and the excavations were still in progress but a vast cityscape had already been unearthed. This included everything from humble homes, to imposing grand houses, open squares and communal baths. The site was vast and even though it was too big for us to fully explore with little people in our party, we saw a considerable part of it.
It seemed odd to see so many heavily backpacked people emerging from the path that skirted the site and it was only once we worked our way down to the beginning of the path that led us through the site that we realised that it was the the Camino Português, or Portuguese Way, a pilgrimage route on the Camino de Santiago that starts in Portugal and leads to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It gave me a thrill to even be standing on the path. It had been a dream of mine to do the full walk at some time but time got away from me and I don't think that my joints could do it any longer. Still, never say die.
The mosaics were detailed and beautiful and it was interesting to see the marks on either side of the gateways where charioteers may have misjudged their route through and scaped the rocks with their wheels. Of course, the highlight for Charlie was the water-garden, where he could put in a coin and turn on the fountains in the preserved garden.
I caried my own burden in my mini pilgrimage around the site as Harri dangled across my body in her harness, kicking and babbling furiously . The museum attached to the site was really interesting and I appreciated the informative panels that lacked all the needless technical language we had been confronted with in some other exhibitions.
A stop at the museum shop allowed Charlie to stock up on his his collection of historical figurines and Peg to get some souvenirs for relatives. We ended up on the terrace of the site cafe and had a really filling lunch in the afternoon sun as gaggles of students streamed by on what appeared a history excursion. I did notice that only two were carrying their excursion report. Yes nothing changes.
As we turned for home, Britt's car sheared off towards a supermarket to get supplies for tonight's pasta dinner. We headed for home and a cup of tea with Ricardo the gardener. What a very interesting guy; a linguist in four languages, a musician with a taste for many styles and a horticulturalist.
We took the opportunity to sun dry all the bedding and towels that we had been trying to dry before the wood stove. The white sheets dancing in the sun and wind caught the mood of the day.
The afternoon saw us relaxing on the eira and soaking in the sun before taking a walk down the newly acquired grove at the end of the lane. The grass was so high beneath the olives that Charlie could barely be seen. The wooden deck that appeared out of nowhere called on some kind of impromptu performance and Zack and I did our best rendition of a country and western jig. Johnny and Chux tried their best to outperform us, but expert opinion was that that they were not up to it.
