COIMBRA (Portugal)

In today’s post, we don’t walk very far. Two reasons: A swollen ankle and heavy persistent rain. Here is just a recap of the two big cities we have visited so far on our Portuguese Camino:

  • Lisbon has an old-world charm that will win the heart of any tourist. This beautiful city was the starting point of our Portuguese Camino. You can read about our first big city on the Portuguese Camino here.
  • Tomar may be much smaller than Lisbon, but this medieval city should be on everyone’s must-see list when they visit Portugal. You can read more about our second big city on the Portuguese Camino here.

The distance between Tomar and Coimbra is 93.5km (58 miles). A distance that we covered in three days, although we did it in different ways:

  • Berto took the bus with me on the first day and the other two days he walked (in pouring rain).
  • I didn’t walk at all. On two of the three days I travelled by bus and on the other day I got a ride with one of the locals.

Here are some of the highlights (and lows) of these three days:

Day 7: Alvaiazere (33.2km):

I thought my swollen ankle would be better after our rest day in Tomar, but it actually got worse. The day we left Tomar, there was a heavy rain shower, and we decided to take the bus to the next town, Alvaiazere.

Bus terminal in Tomar

This means that unfortunately we can’t show you the hiking route between Tomar and Alvaiazere. But we can show you what we bought in Alvaiazere.

Dinner on the left and a pharmacy trip on the right

(You can read about the hiking of Day 7 here)

Day 8: Rabacal (31.1km)

Berto walked this section in heavy rain, which meant he couldn’t take any photos. The owner of the albergue where we stayed in Alvaiazere asked his son to take me to Rabacal. It is a very small town with only about 1,000 inhabitants.

It may be a small town, but they have a lovely church

There is even a pool at the hostel

Hostel O Bonito (wet clothes hanging everywhere to dry)

It was in Rabacal that the owner of the hostel identified the potential problem for my ankle. She mentioned that it looked like an allergic reaction. According to her, in some pine forests, there are pine caterpillars that can be stepped on, and whose larvae can be irritating to human skin. Looking back, I remembered how many caterpillars we had encountered in the woodlands and suddenly everything made sense – the painful, but also itchy sensation.

My foot and lower leg were now completely swollen

(You can read about the hiking of Day 8 here)

Day 9: Coimbra (29.2km)

What can I say? It was another rainy day! Berto managed to take a few photos towards the end of the day’s walk.

Historic aqueduct close to Coimbra

First view of Coimbra from Cruz dos Mourocos

Beautiful buildings on the outskirts of Coimbra

More lovely buildings (there’s always a church somewhere)

Narrow pathways

Berto crossed the Mondego River when he walked into Coimbra

(You can read about the hiking of Day 9 here)

In the meantime, I crossed the Mondego River by bus. It started raining when we stopped in the city center. I didn’t waste any time and went straight to a restaurant. On the menu: Pastel de nata and a very tasty bowl of soup.

This was my view of Coimbra – buses across the Mondego River

Delicious Pastel de nata and a hot bowl of soup

Coimbra:

Coimbra is considered the university city of Portugal, but for more than 100 years it was the medieval capital of the country. The University of Coimbra (UC) was founded in 1290 and is one of the oldest universities in the world, while being the oldest in all of Portugal.

While I was trying to find our overnight accommodation, I had a few photo opportunities in the older part of the city.

The Church of Sao Tiago, a Romansque building from the end of the 12th century

Walking in Almedina Square there is a pretty statue of half a guitar half a woman that is meant to be a tribute to Coimbra’s fado

Almedina Square

After quite a search, I finally found our accommodation for the night. Olive Street House was located in a very narrow alley. We were lucky to get a double bedroom again. I was just happy to have a place where I could keep my swollen foot in the air until Berto arrived.

The very narrow street where I found our accommodation

Our wonderful room at Olive Street House

When Berto finally walked into our room (soaking wet and tired), I just gave him a chance to take a quick shower before we went on a search to buy hiking sandals for me. After about 5km of walking, we found an outdoor shop that, to my relief, sold hiking sandals. It might not have been exactly what I had in mind, but it would have to do because I wanted to start walking again!

Seeing more of Coimbra on the hunt for hiking sandals

Church of St. Bartholomew, built in the 10th century

Monastery of the Holy Cross, founded in 1131

There are many squares with bars and restaurants for a weary pilgrim

More amazing buildings

We wish we had more time and energy to visit the University of Coimbra, a place so famous in Coimbra. But at the end of a rainy day and after our search for hiking sandals, we walked into the first restaurant we could find – looking for a cold beer and a plate of food.

That all important beer at the end of a long day

I was looking forward to starting to walk again the next day. But would it be too soon? We’ll tell you more in our next post when we visit one of the most beautiful cities on the Portuguese Camino (and, according to me, probably in all of Portugal).

Camino sign on a sidewalk in Coimbra