Coimbra, a riverfront city in
central Portugal and the country’s former capital, is home to a preserved
medieval old town and the historic University of Coimbra. We wanted to pass through Coimbra, but in particular shelter
from heavy rain at a camping site, with the comfort of electricity, allowing
battery charging on a cloudy day, extra lights without draining the battery,
use of our small electric heater (400 watts gives comfort in out tiny home),
use of the blender to make delicious green smoothies each day, and of course
take on water, empty grey and black tanks and enjoy hot showers.
The rain came and went on the
afternoon we arrived and next morning started bright and sunny. Anita went for
a long run, and once we were ready to go we both felt that we should return
another time to the city and not go exploring now. We therefore headed west to
Figuera da Foz passing much wetland on the way.
We have been noticing large
road signs blown down by wind, and now we started to see trees blown over or
with trunks broken and remembered that Hurricane Leslie hit Portugal in October
leaving a trail of destruction.
It was good to be back at the
Atlantic Coast, and specifically the famous Silver Coast of Portugal which extends
from Espinho in the North to Ericeira in the South.
At the coast we are warned about
regulations regarding campers, but not advised details. Everywhere are signs
showing that we are not welcome in car parks close to the coast, or even
restricted from driving in some places where delivery vans of the same size are
free to enter.
After more rain showers at Figuera
do Foz we walked along the seafront and saw a partial sunset through mostly
cloudy horizon.
Next morning we drove south picking
up a beautiful coast road passing beaches and villages
before arriving at Nazaré,
again being welcomed by the restriction signs for campers. Nazaré is a big wave
surfing location on the world surfing tour. With light SE winds the sea was
calm but some swell found momentum and four surfers, with attendant jetskis
waited patiently for a few short runs.
We came down from the hill of the lighthouse
and stopped in the town at sea level for a coffee and to see the sunset, much
better than the day before.
In fact the weather was perfect for December, warm
and sunny.
We drove to Caldas da Rainha to
park for the night, needing to make some miles each day to make our 26 December
rendezvous in the south west.
No comments:
Post a Comment