São Domingos - Santiago do Cacém

The exit from São Domingos is initially made by road, walking down to the intersection with the national road N261. We walk on it about 500 meters before deviating to the left, to the sand trail that will accompany, for 4 km, the irrigation channel winding, parallel to São Domingos stream bed. After deviating from the canal, through hills and valleys, almost always in the domain of the holm oak and cork oak forests, we continue through the middle of nature. We will finally see somebody when we pass by the hamlets of Paiol de Santiago, after covering 17km of today’s stage. This is the refuge of the wild boar, the common genet and even the majestic Iberian lynx, some say. We head towards Aldeia de Chãos, a little over 3 km away, where we enter the main street and finally stop for some refreshing moments, but without cooling down, as Santiago do Cacém is already nearby. From Aldeia dos Chãos we leave by dirt road to the N261 and, already at the roundabout, we choose to go straight ahead, walking down to the village entrance. Here, we pass very close to the Roman village of Miróbriga ruins. We meet the national road N120 in the next roundabout and continue straight ahead through the main axis of the city until we find the City Council building, on the left. The stage ends in the municipal garden in front of it. In Santiago do Cacém, twinned with Santiago de Compostela, the Order and the matamouros apostle are omnipresent in the city’s past. The tourism services will provide several references for your visit, so it is not necessary to mention them here. However, we cannot fail to highlight the impact of the contemplation of the stone panel displayed in the main church, representing Saint-James the Moor-Slayer holding the standard of the Order and riding over a host of Muslims.