Camino Portugues Day 4, Tomar

Day 4 Wednesday, 4/12/17, A rest day in Tomar

We were so glad that we decided to stay an extra day to experience this wonderful medieval town.  There is a statue of Gualdim Pais, the founder of Tomar, in the square in front of the town hall and the Church of San Joao Bautista.  Pais established Tomar as the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal.  There was so much history to learn here.

Tomar Town Hall; Templar Castle and Convent on the hill above the town

On our free day, we visited the Templar Castle and the Convento de  Cristo on a hill overlooking Tomar.  We spent the entire morning there touring the huge complex, which is now a World Heritage site, and it was fascinating to see all the diverse architectural styles represented.  One of its most popular features was a huge intricately sculptured and ornate Manueline style window.   

Views of the Templar Castle

Manueline style window of Convento de Cristo

 Afterwards, we followed a walking tour that covered all the main sites of Tomar.  I loved seeing the Knights Templar cross symbol inlayed within the cobblestone sidewalks throughout the town.  A most interesting church was Santa Maria dos Olivas, on the other side of the river from the old town.  It was considered the mother church of the Knights' Templar and it was said to be connected to the Templar Castle by a series of underground tunnels.  Access to the tunnels was thru a small drinking well to the right of the church.  The church is the burial place for over 20 Knights' Templar, including Gualdim Pais, founding father of Tomar.

Templar church of Santa Maria dos Olivas

Cobblestone sidewalks with Templar emblem

At one point we met another pilgrim, Cheryl from Melbourne, an older lady who was walking alone, another free spirit.  She was just walking into town when we saw her and began to talk, and soon decided to stop for a cup of coffee together.  It was such a joy to hear her story.  She had such a positive attitude, with no worries and complete faith and trust that all would work out.  In spite of the many health and personal issues she had to overcome in the past year, she was here ready to complete this journey.  She told us that, the day before, she got off the train at a small town, the wrong stop, had no idea where she was, but the family of someone she met at the small train station befriended her and welcomed her into their home for the night.  Today, she had just arrived in Tomar and was going to spend the next day there.  We would be leaving the next morning, so our paths would not cross again.  Meeting people like her strengthened our courage to let go of the worries that only keep us from doing what could be possible.