The big hike

The last weekend in February, after visiting Coimbra, we woke up early and went on a hike in the hills with our new friends Marta and Pedro and their buddies. 

L to R: Marta, Michael, Krista, Rafi, Emma, Pedro, João, and Lawrence

We met Marta a few weeks ago when we were searching for the same geocache in our neighborhood in Lisbon.  She is Spanish but studied on the Erasmus exchange program in Coimbra.  Now she lives and works in Portugal and is engaged to Pedro, who teaches environmental studies at the University of Coimbra.  Their friends included João, Ilya, a Russo-French architect, and Emma and Lawrence, two Brits who have moved to the village abutting the Roman ruins at Conimbriga. 

The hike was organized by a Portuguese running association, and many of the participants were actually running a 30-km cross-country race. We opted for the 14 km hike instead, but we were a little worried because we didn't know if the boys could handle a 9-mile hike!  But Zeke and Rafi looked so professional with their official t-shirts andfcc race numbers, we figured we could give it a try.

Zeke and Rafi hiking through Conimbriga Roman ruins

Our hike started in the town square of Condeixa and then passed through the ruins of a Roman city.  after that, the trail led us over a small pass into the next valley.  We walked through olive groves along a small river.

Brothers on the road

We passed through a village and saw this beautiful tile sign, which let us know that we had been walking on the Caminho de Santiago, the Portuguese road leading to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where the relics of St. James are buried.  In other words, this trail is part of a trans-European travel route dating back to the 12th century!

Note the seashell motif on the tiles: the symbol of St. James

Of course, the Portuguese part of this network is just one of many spokes from all around Europe.

A map of the paths leading to Santiago de Compostela

Still, it's interesting to imagine the pilgrims, like the travelers in the Canterbury Tales, who have been walking this network of paths for centuries.  The route through northwestern Spain is enjoying a renewed popularity with tourists, though they're mostly secular these days.

Pedro and Michael take a break in the second village

 The nice thing about going on a hike organized by a Portuguese club is that they call up the village cultural and sports associations and get them to greet the hikers  with not only water bottles and orange slices, but also with fresh bread, local cheeses, and wine!

The finish line!

 And after hiking over nine miles, we crossed the finish line and everyone received a bag with a bottle of red wine and two sheep's milk cheeses.  Yum!  the boys were very proud of their accomplishment, and we were proud of them, too.

After the hike, Emma and Lawrence hosted the whole group for lunch at their restored house in the village next to Conimbriga.  It was a fabulous day.