September 30, 1997
To Coimbra
Not only did the Urgeirica Hotel provide a safe haven from the road; it also offered a great smorgasboard breakfast. We consumed more than our fill and then hit the road soon after, hoping to beat some of the traffic by getting an early start. Happily, after only another 5 km the highway split and a new divided highway split off nearly all of the trucks, leaving us fairly quiet roads for much of the rest of the day. With the traffic gone, it was much less frustrating to traverse the still present cobblestone thoroughfares in each village we passed through.
At midday we briefly merged with a four lane highway for another spell of heavy traffic, but to our relief it had a decent shoulder and safety was not a concern. This was followed by a final, wonderful 15 km cruise to Coimbra on a quiet road hugging the banks of the Mondego. This was a truly amazing area, passing through dense, lush, steaming jungle-like forests. The villages which broke through the vegetation were arresting as well - houses were constructed with beautiful, tiled facades (which, we were to find, was characteristic throughout this region and again in Lisbon); great floral displays; and striking cultural scenes which included donkey-drawn wagons and women walking with tall baskets or packages balanced on their heads.
Coimbra is an attractive city, built into a meander of the Mondego. The oldest part of the city which crowns the hilltop at the urban core is crosshatched by narrow, twisting, steep lanes. The whole complex is topped by Coimbra's famous university and cathedral. Its labyrinthine streets are delightful to explore, and great views are available from the university walls at the summit; but its steep lanes were quite leg-wearying, particularly after weeks in the saddle. Our visit to the university was cut short a bit partly because of this - Rachael wore sandals for this outing, and her feet started to blister.
In addition to its distinctive physical features, Coimbra has an attractive cultural and street life. There are many people in the streets, shopping, visiting and lounging on benches in the plaza. We took a break at one point to sit in the plaza and munch on a serving of roasted chestnuts wrapped in a cone of newspaper, purchased from a sidewalk vendor with her smoking brazier. Later, I purchased a new short sleeved shirt which we selected from the window of a clothing store, immediately after the shopkeeper marked its price down to 1800 escudos (about $9).
We lodged in a second floor pension at the base of the hill, placing our bicycles on the large rooftop patio which opened from a window of our room. We were delighted in our stay here by a beautiful young girl who helped us out by carrying our helmets up the stairs, but were a bit rueful to see that she was losing the use of the patio as her own cycling grounds during our stay here.
For dinner we ate at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the middle of a narrow, dark, mysterious alley - one of a half-dozen such restaurants on this lane. We enjoyed a fine meal here, which was marred only by the fact that later I discovered I had left my credit card there with the bill. We did not discover this until the next morning, and endured the familiar anxiety attack which comes when we discovered once more that my absent-mindedness has jeopardized our journey.
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Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 1,213 miles (1,952 km)
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