Jo’s Monday walk : Miróbriga

Last week we took a look at the town of Santiago do Cacém and its lovely castelo.  With only a couple of nights away from home there was little time for putting our feet up so, having checked in to our hotel, it was hot foot to the Roman ruins of Miróbriga.

One kilometre north west of the town, it would have been an easy drive, but some people like to do things the hard way.  When we finally arrived the site did not look too imposing, but the Romans seldom got it wrong so, bypassing the small museum, we set off to explore.

Wikipedia tells me that these Roman baths are among the best preserved in Portugal, and I do have a bit of a fondness for baths.  The settlement here appears to date back to the Iron Age, the Romans occupying and extending the site from the second half of the 1st century.

I talked about mood the other day, and how some places affect you more than others.  Although this is a sizeable site, with very visible paved Roman roads and the remnants of many shops and residences, it didn’t whisper to me as these places sometimes do.  It shouldn’t have been hard to picture a toga-less Roman or two lolling at their ablutions, discussing politics and which wench they had an eye for.  But somehow I couldn’t tune in to the gossip, as I might have done at beautiful Ammaia, near Marvão.

Information boards were plentiful and specific, giving details of the hypocaust system which heated the floor of the baths.  To the east of these is a small, single arch bridge which leads to the forum and temples.  It was here, if anywhere, that I felt the weight of history, crumbling in the cracks and uneven surfaces of the crazed paving slabs.

There were not many other visitors this late in the day, and it was easy to slip into the lodging house to examine the remains of ancient wall paintings, and finally to the elevated position of the forum and Imperial temple.

I gazed in vain for the Hippodrome, the only one in Portugal whose entire ground plan is known.  It was left to me to imagine the thunder of chariots, echoing in the silent Alentejo countryside.

Can you believe that in all this long day not a morsel of cake had passed our lips?  Where’s the justice, I hear you cry!  Where’s the cake?

A small café looked across to the ruins and we rested our weary legs there, listening to a couple of locals discuss their day.  Pickings were slim, as we might have been, because it wasn’t easy to find a restaurant to accommodate us that evening.  So, I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep you dangling till next week, when Michael finally gets his chocolate cake.  But I can leave you with a fine windmill and a heap of cork, observed on our walk back to the hotel.

walking logo

Thanks everyone, for keeping me company.  Time to share a few walks.  I shall have one last for you, from the Alentejo, next week.  Feel free to join me there, on Jo’s Monday walk.

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Fishing quotas can have disastrous effects, but they take Eunice on a really interesting walk :

A walk to Fleetwood wrecks

Go adventuring with Alice!

Fort Morris State Historic Site

Janet is home from the Wyoming she loves.  Lots of choices to share :

Monday walk…walk, ride or drive?

Which path will you choose?  Yvette would like to know :

Pathways – Monday Walk with Jo

Wondering how Drake’s feeling this week?

Blue mood

A walk through a very sad period in history, with Denzil :

The Reconstruction of Ypres

Sharing the beauty of this world, with Rupali :

Weekend 103: Trees and Trees

And finally, blow a few cobwebs away as we tramp across the Moors with Margaret :

A Bleak Walk is Just Perfect

Take care, all!  It’s a funny old world out there, isn’t it?

132 comments

  2. Jo, an interesting site even if mostly in ruins and lovely photos…too bad you did not get a nice yummy slice of cake. Sounds like you are getting out and about again into the Portuguese countryside? We are leaving on Tuesday, fingers crossed…heading for Italy.

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  7. I love your observations about ‘not feeling it’ at the site of the ruins. I’m that way, too; sometimes I dissolve right into some past tableau and others I skim along on the surface, seeing it all, but not feeling it deep down in my imagination or bones. It looks pretty cool, though, and I think I might have been most drawn to that bridge and the ancient paving stones as well!

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      1. We are ok. Just narrowly missed getting hit by one of the biggest hurricanes to ever hit the Gulf Coast. We are relieved to have been spared last night but sad for our neighbors in Louisiana, who are again swamped. 😦 Off to Colorado and grandbaby tomorrow! 🙂 Hope you are doing well!

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  9. What a great walk Jo and really different from your others. The roman ruins look fascinating, love a bit of history like that to lose myself in. Shame about the lack of cake but it’s a small price to pay for such a nice experience. Double next week hopefully!

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  14. It is fun exploring the countryside with you Jo and this time the last two photos were my favourite. I suppose, I’m really fond of blue skies and the windmill set it off beautifully but seeing all that cork stacked was amazing.The only cork I am familiar with is either the wine cork or the cork board, so you can imagine my delight.

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    1. I was just explaining some of the cork process to Anabel and promising to write the post about it one day, Sheetal. Cork shops are everywhere these days, selling bags, shoes, whatever… because the wine industry has turned to plastic 😦 😦

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    1. Hiya,darlin 🙂 🙂 Sue said you’d spoken this week, and I planned to drop you a line. You seem so very distant these days! Not that there’s huge likelihood of me hopping a few borders to Poland. 😦 Vivi is planning Poznan in December…. Christmas markets seem to belong to another life! Not Roman but not far off! 🙂 🙂 But I’m glad you’re hankering at last. And even more glad you’re safe from flood and pestilence!

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    1. The cork trees are endlessly fascinating, Anabel, with their ancient, twisted shapes and numbered trunks. There are a gazillion of them here in the Alentejo 🙂 🙂

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  20. very interesting, Jo. and the ruins leave you quite a bit for imagination especially the Roman baths. 🙂 🙂 thank you, as always, for this lovely tour. take care. 🙂 🙂

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    1. I love to laze in the bath with a good book and a glass of wine, LolaWi. Which reminds me… it might just be time for a glass 🙂 🙂 You take good care too, hon.

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