I spent Sunday exploring Santiago do Cacem and environs. I began in the oldest district, downslope from the castelo, and almost immediately I heard music. I assumed it was a radio, but when I rounded a corner I was swept up in a Palm Sunday procession. There were about 150 people of all ages walking slowly uphill to Igreja Matriz. At the front, a priest with a microphone, and at the back where I was, a young woman in what looked like a scout uniform carrying portable speakers. The singing was quite lovely, as you can hear in the video clip below.
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Everyone was carrying a palm frond, and just before we entered the church, an elderly woman handed me one too. I lasted about a half hour into the service before thirst and hunger drove back down the hill for a lunch of bread, cheese and Porto Preto. Porto Preto is cured Iberian pork from pigs fed a diet of wild acorns. Deliciosa! The beer was good too.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the ruins of a Roman town just east of Santiago. Those Roman knew how to build — two centuries on, you could still see the outlines of a prosperous community with baths, a commercial district, a mix of homes (some with decorative wall panels), a forum, a temple, and even a race track/hippodrome!
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Tomorrow I begin my walk — 19 k to Vale Seco.