Somewhere Slowly

The next morning, after dithering about packing – Nanci’s suitcase, the Beast, was full to the brim after her Cinqueterre visit before arriving in Porto – we bimbled out for some breakfast. Down one of the streets leading to the riverside we found a café with smashed avocado sandwiches and eggs Benedict, so we started our adventure in style! We also saw our first arrow on the floor.

Then as we went to find some info on our travel options, we heard someone calling Nanci’s name … it was Kalle, who we met on the camino the year before, and who was starting his walk the next day! Camino magic from the off. Sadly we couldn’t stop, we had to pick up our packs and the Beast before getting a taxi to Campanhã bus station and heading to Coimbra.

When we arrived, we got another taxi to where we were staying … only we couldn’t. Coimbra is so much smaller than Porto, and with so many streets that cars can’t pass, that we had to walk the last bit. After a lovely lunch of grilled chicken and salad in a bar on a little square near our street (alley), I went to pick up the key to a lovely flat … through a gate, up two stairs, around a corner and up some more steps, in a warren of flats, rooms and outside spaces, tucked away in a narrow lane. It had a definite medieval remnant feel to it, which was great. Much better than a normal hotel (though we missed the air con).

Coimbra was hot, so we didn’t feel like running around too much. It was also too hot for me to sleep in the attic room, so we did our first rejig of furniture in the flat – it would not be the last. All sorted for the night we went out for a stroll along the main streets, which were lit up with reading slogans at night, to celebrate the local library’s 100th anniversary. To read is to travel, reading is magic … I couldn’t agree more!

The next morning we had two jobs: Send a box of superfluous stuff to Casa Ivar in Santiago to be picked up when we arrived, and see as much of Coimbra as the heat would allow. We started by having a lovely brunch on the main square, with lots of options like poke bowls, eggs Benedict etc. We’d try to stay off the typically Iberian cake-and-coffee breakfasts for as long as possible. Then we tracked down the post office, which had recently moved, got the actual box to pack stuff in and took it home to start stuffing it.

Then back out to wander! We started by following the crowds up towards the top of the hill, then decided to bimble down again through the narrow and less salubrious back streets, getting gently lost and finding little gems that don’t feature on the tourist maps. Photos don’t do it justice but:

At one point we tried to shop for some pumpkin jam we had tasted on a cheese plate, which lead us to tracking down a local speciality deli. There we had some of Coimbra’s local drink ginginha in chocolate cups, and bought fish patés and wished we could take half the cheese selection with us.

In the early evening we went back out again to try to get a table up on the hill, in Tapas do Norte, which had very good reviews online. We were not disappointed! We sat outside and ordered lamb with honey and almonds, and clams with chourizo … it was sooo good, no wonder the restaurant was full. Nanci still claims it was the best meal of the whole trip and she might be right.

The next day it was time to ship the box – be aware that if you are shipping it from Portugal, you will need a Portuguese address and phone number! Most post office staff will help you get around it but if you do have Portuguese friends or a prebooked room, bring the info when you go to send it. Apparently it was a nightmare – I couldn’t tell, I was sitting in the shade sipping iced tea and looking after the luggage.

Turns out not all buses from Coimbra leave from the bus station we had arrived at. We were booked on a Flixbus, which picks up from a stop under an overpass a little way further along. If you have luggage, a taxi might be a good idea … But we found it, got on the bus, and headed back to Porto to start our coastal camino.