Capes, Cobblestones, and Chanfana

Day 8: Casconha to Coimbra (29 Miles / 2,700 ft.)

After a casual morning at Amazônia, we hit the road for a short but still hilly ride. We climbed over the high hills approaching Coimbra, enjoyed an incredible view from above, and then descended toward the Mondego River running through the city.

We arrived hours before check-in, so we did much of tomorrow’s planned sightseeing. Coimbra has about 140,000 residents, but its university has more than 31,000 students, giving the city a wonderfully young energy. Founded in 1290, the university is known for its black academic clothing, faculty colors, and historic student houses called repúblicas.

Freshman orientation was underway, with chanting and groups marching through the streets. What we saw felt more like camaraderie-building than hazing. We accidentally filmed one group containing minors and were firmly instructed to delete the video. Our first lesson at one of Europe’s oldest universities was apparently privacy!

We ate bifanas at a local sandwich shop, explored the botanical gardens, and delivered a gift to one of Al Hood’s former students at the psychology department. The steep cobbled streets often forced us to push our bikes, although riding along the river was wonderfully flat. Coimbra is definitely not a bicycling city.

After settling into our cozy hotel, we walked out for chanfana, the regional dish of goat slowly cooked in red wine. A light sprinkle began, so the wonderfully attentive staff prepared a table beneath the awning for us. A sweet ending to our first day in Coimbra.Read more