I believe in the liberal use of rest days on long walks especially when the resting places are so interesting. Santarem sits on a hill above the river and was the choice of Julius Caesar for his administrative center. When the the Moors arrived sometime after 711, the city was considered too strong to be conquered. Portugal's first king, Dom Afonso Henriques recaptured the city in 1149 and sent the Moors packing. The Moors played a big part in Portugues and Spanish history. How did they get here? The Roman empire collapsed in the late 400's. Sweeping in to fill the void were a collection of Germanic tribes, collectively known as the Goths. In the case of the Iberian peninsula, the Visigoths were the rulers but weren't yet able to create a centralized government.
Fast forward to 711 when two Visigoth leaders were having a bit of an argument and one decided to ask the neighbors across the water, in Morocco, for help. They helped alright. By 720, the Moors had overrun the Iberian peninsula as far north as Burgos and Leon and had spread into southern France. Moorish and Islamic art and architecture are found throughout Portugal and Spain and certainly helped pull Europe out of the Dark Age.
The Igreja de Graca. Pedro Alvares Cabral is buried here. He "discovered" Brazil which meant immense wealth for traders and ship owners carrying goods and slaves back to Portugal.
The interior of Graca.
The cloister at the convent of Saint Francis. Both the church and cloister are being used as art gallerys and performance space.
All the walls in this church, Igreja de Marvila, are covered with ceramic tiles.
The view from the park overlooking the river. Santarem is where the roads to Fatima and Santiago split. Fatima is west of here about two days walk. Tomorrow I will leave this park, head down the hill and walk 31 kilometers (18 miles) to Golega. Feets, don't fail me now.
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