Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Conimbriga and the drive into the Hills
Today we awoke to sunshine and blue sky. This is hardly unusual except that it is good to report that it happened. We had slept quite well and the school group camped below us did not kept us up long. Other campers were not happy but we felt that they were well behaved and no noisier than any group. As it turns out, they were on a reward for good behaviour at school!
An early start was made for a short drive to Conimbriga, a roman site that on paper looked interesting. One has heard about, say, Vindolanda, Fishbourne, and York and so on but I had never heard of this sight. We were not disappointed.
It, that is Conimbriga, was a roman town/settlement that was spread over a large area and it would seem only some of it has been excavated. The mosaics are extensive but. Exposed to the weather, one must wonder if they are not deteriorating. What was fascinating was the extent of the bathing facilities. Not once bur twice they had built a full set of rooms with accompanying swimming pools. One was amazingly large and would not be reproduced in England until at least the late 19th century.
I enjoyed the area where it is said they Romans came to relax in the sunshine, a sort of sun lounger area set out on the edge of a deep gorge or cutting. Another unusual aspect of the site was that the facilities were not just for men but women were also given access. The ones I have seen in England, on military sites, were men only but in those circumstances that does not surprise. Maybe Bath baths were mixed, but I cannot recall.
Another fact that emerged was that the site was not abandoned until medieval times. That is, the buildings were not ransacked and broken up but those that followed. One huge house remained in use for about 1000 years.
After the visit, we made our way north and slightly east to a site recommended by other fellow travellers. Not entirely on the beaten track it's a sort of part way stop en-route to Salamanca and Madrid. It wasn't far but it revealed more of a Portugal many brits will not see. Tiny villages, with much local agriculture and small scale industry, heavily hilly countryside, with vines, olive trees, rocks and scattered trees. Driving once one leaves the newish roads becomes increasingly interesting. The roads swoop up and down inclines with sharp twists and turns besides high, rocky hedges and deep drainage gullies on the road edges.
We were looking for a campsite set in the hills and although the instructions were clear, finding the precise road to follow was less easy. However, when we found it were had the best greeting of any campsite ever. 'Welcome, please come and get your welcome drink!' Now that is something to remember. And it continued.. This is a site of quality and it seems to have been worth the effort. Quiet and peaceful it is almost a paradise after out city sites.
- comments