Tomar - Castles, Conventos and Knights Templar - Part 1

We don’t really remember why Tomar came up on our radar. Maybe it was a discussion we had with Michael and Catherine when we visited with them before we started the Camino. Maybe it was a conversation with John and Pam, American ex-pats, whom we met in Ponte de Lima. Maybe it was simply the lure of the Knights Templar history, legends, and legacy. As we discussed the possibilities of where to head after Porto, Tomar made the short list and became our next destination. We booked a ‘direct’ Flix bus, which was kinda direct, but certainly not non-stop. Three and a half hours later, we arrived in Tomar under gray, cloudy skies that threatened imminent rain. We’d seen glimpses of the Templar Castle from the bus window and were keen to visit, but the rain commenced on our way to our rented apartment and kept us captive till the late afternoon. Our apartment, by the way, was clean and comfortable with an odd-shaped layout, a well-stocked galley kitchen and a large patio with an orange tree,…