2025 - Day 10 -A tale of two pilgrims - Coinimbrigia Ruins to Coinbra & A day in Coimbra

Scores on the doors - 12.96 miles 4.29 moving 5.02 total 427 up 458 m down 

Today was a tale of two Pilgrims, the First Lesley’s Tale:-

Three things led to me having a different day to Jeremy :

1. we were not moving on to a different hotel, but staying for a second night
2. we were in the historic city of Coimbra, a major tourist attraction with plenty to see and do
3. The rain yesterday leading to sodden shoes and socks had led to some more blister
   

All this meant I decided to give the short walk back to Coimbra from last night’s taxi pick up point a miss.

I did a few jobs in the hotel room, waiting for the rain to pass, then set off for a bit of shopping ( I am shopping queen, Meryl’s sister after all 😉). I headed back to the big shopping mall we had seen yesterday, and spent a pleasant couple of hours visiting a massive Auchan store topping up various supplies (including beer & iced tea) & also shopping for new trainers. I ended up in JD Sports no less, where I discussed the most comfortable trainers they sold for road walking. A pleasant young man with excellent English (his girlfriend was in London after moving there from Bath) recommended New Balance as the most comfortable. When I said I didn’t want to spend too much as I only really needed them for the week ahead, he told me Fila were almost as good and cheaper. I tried on a few pairs and ended up with a comfortable pair for €50 (on reduction) and felt quite pleased with my purchase. While I was in the shopping centre, bone dry, I received several WhatsApps from a very soggy Jeremy sheltering in a bus shelter & coffee shops on his walk into Coimbra. I got back to the hotel about 1:00 pm only to find on ‘Find my’ that Jeremy was almost back, so, by 1:30 I had popped out of the hotel to welcome him back.

After a beer and a chance to dry out for Jeremy, we went out to explore the University’s botanical gardens, which were just across the road from us. It wasn’t a long outing as we had to back, changed and ready for our first Uber to take us to a night out, at 17:15. Jeremy will tell you more … 

Jeremy’s Tale:-

Whilst we were eating our breakfast the receptionist came into say the  taxi had arrived, he was 1/2 hours early and so I quickly finished breakfast grabbed my stuff nearly forgetting my cagoule and jumped into the taxi and was whizzed out to Coinimbrigia again passing a road with thousands of pilgrims going to Fatima, for celebration of the Virgin Mary’s appearance on the 13th May 1917.  The weather was nice and sunny but the forecast for the rest of the day wasn’t fantastic.

Travelling in the taxi last night. I thought that most of the route would be through built up areas and industrial landscape.  But my route actually started by walking on small country roads surrounded by Farmland and small houses, barns and farms etc.  After a couple of miles I caught up with the two ladies from New Zealand, Rebecca and Susan, who we had met on the road to Alvaiázere.  We had a chat for 10 to 15 minutes and then I bid them farewell and carried on soon catching up with the Irish ladies who were also using Santiago Ways again I had a brief chat before carrying on.

I walked through two lovely quaint towns that ran into each other Orelhudo and Casconha, Where all the cafes were full of Fatima pilgrims in their high vis yellow jackets.  At the end of the town, I was uncertain of my route looked to the right and there were some pilgrims waving me up and showing me the route, I passed them and thanked them for their efforts.

After 5 miles I at last left the tarmac and began to walk on a forest track.  In the background I could hear the sound of thunder bud didn’t know if the storm was coming towards me or away from me.  However, on entering some woods it started to rain and following on from yesterday's experience I decided that whilst it was only spitting, I would put on over trousers as well as my cagoule and rucksack cover it might be OTT but hopefully it meant I would stay dry.  Fortunately my gamble paid off as it chucked it down, and stayed dry from the rain, and my over trousers stopped my shoes getting soaked, but as it was so humid under my cagoule my tee shirt was soon soaked. 

I had about a miles walking through the forest in constant rain and then I dropped down a hill through an industrial area to a main road and stopped at a bus shelter for five minutes, to WhatsApp Lesley with a selfie before continuing on my way.

The rain slowly began to Peter out as I carried up on roads and then followed a small track and through small villages before dropping down the hill and getting my first view of Coimbra.  I was very much into civilization now crossing over motorways and walking amongst houses interspersed with bits of countryside as well. Before the road drop down and I came into a lot of housing. I then crossed a fairly major road and then started up the hill to Santa Clara.  I'd hoped to find the coffee shop, but by halfway Up the Hill hadn’t so stopped to eat an orange and to remove my water proofs. 

However, no sooner had I put my waterproofs away and started off, then the rain started again, I passed a restaurant which looked far to posh for a passing Pilgrim wanting a coffee and so I carried on.  The rain was starting to get heavier but around the next corner was a workman's cafe where I stopped and had a coffee.

I was now at Santa Clara and just had the long downhill to the River Mondago and over the bridge. Before finding my way to the hotel.

After passing through the tranquility of Santa Clara and the Monastery of St Isabella I tdropped down into Coimbra itself with lots of traffic and all the cafes full of people enjoying a Saturday afternoon in the sun.  

I had plotted a route to the hotel via Google maps, but hadn’t realised it involved a very steep staircase of about 100 stairs, then after negotiating this it was up another hill and into the botanical gardens.  A couple of false turns ensued amongst the bamboo, but eventually I emerged, and there coming down the street from the hotel was Lesley in her newly acquired trainers.  

After a beer in our room and a quick shower (for me) we went for a wander in the botanical gardens, before returning to the hotel to change before heading out for the evening.  The evening was a first for us as Lesley had booked our very first Uber to take us into town for a Fado recital.  (To a street which was inaccessible to vehicles and didn’t appear on the driver’s GPS!) Being country folk using an Uber wasn’t something on our Radar! However it all worked very well and Mohammed from Pakistan (with a north Cyprus passport and a best friend in Norwich) picked us up and delivered us near where the Fado was taking place. (Recommended to us by Sonia and Elaine who had seen it in the Cicerone walking guide) But where was it?  As we weren’t on the street where it was being performed and couldn’t see where it was (had our driver let us down?) Apple maps said it was two minutes away, but it’s directions didn’t makes sense.  Google maps said it was a 22 minute walk away.  We saw some passing black cloaked Coimbra Students, and decided to ask them, “did they know where the Fado was being performed?” “Everywhere” they said, we tried to explain more, and eventually after a bit more confusion, when we said the address they pointed us down some stairs, we descended but were still confused, but as we were wondering what to do were accosted by three students on some sort of Fresher/rag week stunt, so we asked them and they pointed us in the direction of an A board announcing Fado Central, which was exactly what we were looking for.  We gave them some money for their Collection and said goodbye.  We were early so popped into a cafe for a glass of wine and a beer.  Elaine and Sonya arrived at the same time as Bob (of the blisters), we all went into the concert which was fantastic, Portuguese and Classical Guitar, with two incredible male singers.   Followed by a glass of Cockburn’s Port.  We then all adjourned to a nearby restaurant for a really lovely vegetarian tapas meal,

after which we all said our goodbyes as Sonia and Elaine were flying home the next day.  We then got our second Uber of the day (this time not booked in advance).  Went back to the hotel and prepared for tomorrow.