Portugal
Condeixa-a-Nova Municipality

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 13

      Rain, Rain

      March 28 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

      It was a rainy 22 km's again today. When I arrived at Conimbriga, most of my stuff was very damp. At the hostel tonight, many of the people that I have met on and off were all at the same place tinight. Skyler from the USA, the girl from germany, Karen from Holland, and Alex from the Ukraine are all here. Since everybody had wet stuff, Alex found a drycleaners near us. We all put our stuff together and took it there. They washed everything and dryed it for 8.00 euro! So we all will have dry socks for the morning! Skyler was set on getting an american style burger from a restaurant that he had heard about. We all went and had burgers. So everything clean and dry tonight in this cozy albergue. Tomorrow Coimbra!Read more

    • Day 13

      Etappe 11

      May 20, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Sali zämä!
      Gestern wurden wir, bei unserer Ankunft in der Herberge, sehr freundlich von unserem neusten Herbergsvater begrüsst! Als er unsere Pässe sah, erzählte er sogleich, dass er 8Jahre in der Schweiz (Bulle) gearbeitet habe. Er war sehr gesprächig  und gab uns gleich das Gefühl, willkommen zu sein!
      Zum Abendessen wurde uns zum ersten Mal auf diesem Weg ein Pilgermenue offeriert. Es war echt gut! Auch frühstücken war in dieser Herberge möglich, aber, so wurde uns gesagt, erst um 07:30Uhr. Pünktlich wie wir nun mal sind, erschienen wir zur angegebenen Zeit vor der allerdings noch geschlossenen Tür. Die frischen Brötchen, und somit unser Frühstück, waren schon da...es hing, da die Bäckerei die Brotbestellung geliefert hatte,  sozusagen in einer Tasche an der Türfalle.
      Als dann um 08:00Uhr die Pforte geöffnet und somit das Frühstück serviert wurde, waren wir doch sehr erleichtert! Denn ohne Frühstück loszulegen, wäre nicht die beste Option gewesen!
      Die heutige Etappe war sehr gut zu bewältigen. Es gab nur wenig Steigung, was uns, nach gestern, entgegen kam. Unterwegs hatten wir eine Begegnung mit einem Anhänger des Templerordens..., sie wird uns unvergesslich bleiben. Der Templer wohnt abseits der Zivilisation, in seinem eigenen kleinen Reich, welches er ganz originell gestaltet hat. Gegen eine freiwillige Spende konnte man Kaffee oder Tee trinken. Obst und Kekse waren auch im Angebot. Er war sehr religiös und erzählte viel, aber nichts von sich! Und doch... auf jede Frage bekam man eine gute, originelle Antwort! Die kleine Kapelle auf seinem Grundstück hatte er selbst errichtet. Als wir uns dann entschlossen weiterzuziehen, wünschte er uns Frieden. Er verabschiedete sich von uns,  indem er alle 3 Strophen vom Pilgerlied ULTREIA sang!
      Read more

    • Day 13

      Day 10: Ansião to Rabaçal

      May 13, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Friday the 13th - what a lucky day.

      We one again had the pleasure of Wil's company for the 19-km walk from Ansiao to Rabacal. Most of the walk was on country roads, gravel paths and tractor lanes, and there were some challenging ascents and descents. At one point, we passed by what looked like a water pump so Ernie decided to give it a crank, or rather many, many cranks. Just when we thought the pump must be out of order, a stream of cold water came gushing out.

      Anita and Ernie are staying in Zambujal tonight but due to limited accommodations, I stopped in Rabacal. I'm actually staying in Chanca, a little town perched high on the hill 3 kilometres from Rabacal. Luckily, my amazing host, Paola offered to pick me up from Rabacal so I didn't have to hike up the steep hill in 31 degree sunshine. Her husband will drive me back to Rabacal tomorrow morning so I can continue my Camino journey.

      Villa Chanca is a beautiful place to stay. The property has a pool, hammocks to relax in, a gorgeous garden with a fig tree, walnut tree, peach tree, wild loquats, wild strawberries and more. But as gorgeous as the property is, the best thing about Villa Chanca is the host. Paola offered me homemade vegetable & chickpea soup for dinner. I sat outside to eat and we chatted and shared stories like old friends. Her kindness was heartwarming and I am filled with gratitude on this lucky Friday the 13th.

      Kilometres walked since Lisbon: 216. We are now approximately one third of the way to Santiago de Compostela
      Read more

    • Day 10

      Day 10, Alvorge to Conimbriga

      April 10, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

      Day 10, I can’t believe it’s already been 10 days! We started off with a chill in the air, it did warm up but not as warm as it has been. It looks like we’re in store for some chilly weather and possibly rain later this week. Today’s distance was just short of yesterday’s, finishing at 13.49 miles. We had quite a few inclines today. It never fails, as soon as we start climbing I go into forced march mode. I don’t look up. I just focus on taking the hill, then before I know it, I’m there! We walked through a few small hamlets and enjoyed time on the trail surrounded by trees and wildflowers. Right when we were looking for a shady spot to take a little siesta, we came upon some serious trail magic! Someone had set up patio furniture, coffee, and apples in a quaint little area with cairns and other features to look at. It was a welcome relief, just in time. That’s some Camino Magic!✨Read more

    • Day 4

      Roman Ruins, old University & Fado Music

      March 6 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

      Our hotel tonight (Conimbriga Hotel do Paço) was once the Almadas Palace, a royal residence dating back to the 14th century. It underwent extensive renovation 30 years ago to turn it into an historic hotel.

      This morning we had a short drive to the Roman ruins of Conímbriga. The site is one of the largest Roman settlements identified in Portugal. To date, less than 20% has been excavated. Romans occupied the site from the 1st century BC until the mid-5th century when they were pushed out by Germanic armies. The wall outlines of a few homes had been excavated, and some nice mosaic floor tiles were reconstructed, but most impressive was the Casa dos Repuxos (house of fountains). This was an aristocratic residence dating from the 2nd century AD, which was built with a complex lead-pipe hydraulic system that fed several fountains and ornamental pools. The house also has a rich set of mosaics depicting mythological, geometric and plant scenes.

      We continued with an exploration of Coimbra, the first capital city of Portugal. There we toured the oldest university in Portugal, the University of Coimbra. The site was a former royal palace until 1290 when the king realized he needed to start a university to stem the brain drain of students attending foreign universities (on Portuguese funding) and then not returning home. We visited the university prison (for naughty students!), the library, chapel, and other palace rooms converted for academic use.

      We then walked over to a local fado house for a performance of this traditional music of Portugal. This expressive, often melancholic Portuguese folk music tradition, is sometimes referred to as “Lisbon blues” because “fado” means “fate” and songs are often nostalgic or sad. Coimbra has their own take on this genre, using it for wooing lovers, and some of the songs were definitely on the more upbeat side. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take videos to share with you.
      Read more

    • Day 37–38

      Baraca do Casmilo

      March 22 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      What a pleasure waking up for a swim! And I had the dorm all to myself at Albergue Rabaçal and enjoyed a full night's rest.

      A short 4km walk up and over the hill from Rabaçal got me to the Baracks (Caves) of Casmilo where I spent most of the afternoon dozing under the trees and exploring the small caves.

      With no level areas to set up camp for the night, I climbed to the top of the next hill to find a very sweet little village with a few people in it this time!

      2 cups of tea and a full French style lunch at the village picnic area hit the spot. I get the impression  there are many rock climbers that flock here on the weekends as I spotted several bolted climbing routes around the caves.

      The Moon is nearly full and the bats are out swooping just above my bivy already. I'm tucked in, warm and ready for a good 12 hour snooze in my own 'bed' again in the Hotel of a Billion Stars.
      Read more

    • Day 38

      Day- 38 Romans

      March 23 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      After an 8am lie in and a cruizy morning packing up camp, I set off for the Roman Ruins indicated on the map but with no idea of what to expect.
      The Roman town of Lusitania dates back to the time of Brutus, 100+ years before Christ and today, 2000 years later, I marvelled at the mosaic floors which are still as beautiful as the day they were laid.

      I'm at a private Albergue tonight and had the priviledge of hanging out with 4 friends from th UK, Canada and Italy. Maddy Hart from the UK is the great grand daughter of Sir George Hart, one of the inventors of Radar.

      We all had a fun evening out at a local 'Cowboy and Western' tavern listening to bad live music and enjoyed a beer each.

      So much fun to be had!
      Read more

    • Day 15

      Day 11 Ansiao - Conimbriga

      September 19, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

      Day 11 - Ansiao to Conimbriga, Tuesday, September 19.

      Started @ 7:51am. Finished @ 4:25pm. 30.8k/29.1m. Walking time 6h24m. Steps 39,424. Calories 1,471.

      My host Olga provide me with a great send off for my very long day on the Caminho. Fresh fruit, yogurt, fresh bread, cheese, excellent coffee, juice, homemade marmalade (figs, pears w/carmelized almonds). For the road I took a boiled egg from her chickens & a small roll of bread, which I ended up eating for my supper. Olga then drove me to the edge of town where the Caminho path will lead me to Conimbriga 30+k away. Olga is my Camino Angel for the day.

      Chilly & clear morning. Wore my long sleeve tee, but could have unpacked my micro puffy jacket! Anyway an hour in the tee shirt came off!

      Great path trails today. Very little paved roads. Mostly on dirt, sometimes rocky country paths through tree, vineyard, garden areas. I even walked on a portion of the old Roman road. Not my favorite or easiest on the feet, toes, legs, but it was only for a short stretch.

      Coffee stop Aimee (MN) & Jess/Pete (SC) were just leaving. Met up with J/P a couple more times. Aimee is staying in the same Albergue with me tonight.

      Stopped for lunch/supper about 12k from my night stopped. Where I’m going doesn’t have a good place to eat, so this is it for today. P&J arrived as I was leaving.

      Just before Conimbriga stopped at Condeixa-A-Velha, the largest best preserved Roman settlement in Portugal. Romans arrived here in 139BC. It was a large complex and wished I wasn’t so tired to take in more.

      Arrived at Albergue de Conimbriga and all but one other person had already arrived. Thankfully the owner reserved a bottom bunk for me! So 8 of us in a bunk room, 2 toilets, 2 showers, 1 sink & a small kitchen for those that wanted to cook.

      A man from Germany is here. He walked all the way from Germany!!!! Not sure what path that was. He is 69. Also here are 2 from Eugene, 2 German father/son, Tracy from USA/Germany. So 5 Americans & 3 Germans!

      Enjoy the journey. Photos gave captions. Bom Caminho
      Read more

    • Day 33

      Conimbriga - Roman Ruins

      October 6, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Today we had a bit of a lazy morning. It was nice to just hang about and take it easy without having to be somewhere at a specific time. We decided that since public transport seemed practically non existent on a Sunday, we would order an Uber to take us to Conímbriga, about 16kms southwest of Coimbra. This went without a hitch, much to Ian’s delight, as it was his first time booking an Uber. In fact, our driver was quite an interesting young man, who was very talkative. He has aspirations to travel to Australia someday. He has finished university, where he studied to be an art historian, and he has worked in his field in both Lisbon and Porto (his home town) but now resides in Coimbra. He was also an aspiring artist, writer and musician.

      We decided to have lunch before exploring the ruins, so ate at the restaurant that was part of the small museum located at the ruins. It was surprisingly good. I had fish and, and Ian had grilled chicken, washed down by a glass of wine. Once we were well nourished, we headed out to explore the ruins, which are said to be Portugal’s most extensive Roman ruins, and one of the best preserved sites on the Iberian Peninsula. The mosaic work on the floors, much of it still in tact, was amazing, and the size of the site is quite phenomenal. Established a few years BC, after about 500 years of living peacefully and prospering, the town was subjected to raids (there is evidence of a hastily built massive defensive wall built through the middle of the town). It was totally abandoned when the Roman Empire disintegrated.
      Read more

    • Day 169

      Ruínas de Conimbriga

      March 9, 2023 in Portugal

      Da man von den Ruinen schon außerhalb des Zaunes sehr viel sehen kann und das Wetter sehr regnerisch war, beschlossen wir, zunächst einen Spaziergang durch das angrenzende Dorf zu unternehmen. Hier sieht man an jeder Ecke noch altes Gemäuer und verfallene Häuser aus der damaligen Zeit.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Condeixa-A-Nova, Condeixa-a-Nova Municipality

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android