Friday 13th September

Headed south towards Coimbra stopping along the way at Aveiro the Portugese version of Venice but not on the same grand scale, its just that the local canal boats have a gondola look about them, minus the serenading gondoliers.  It is the primitive art work on the prow of these boats that catches the eye.

Canal bridges through town

Aveiro traditional boats

Canal cruiser

Canal boat artwork

Gondola romance Portuguese style

Saturday 14th September

Walkabout Coimbra was the main event of the day. This one time capital of Portugal and seat of learning dates back to the middle ages, the university is the most prestigious academic centre in Portugal, many students wear traditional  black garb and cape sporting ribbons that inform which course they are studying and other minutiae.

River bank plane trees

Traditional boat on Mondego River

Colonade

Joao III, established Coimbra University in 1537

Exterior of the Biblioteca Joanina  (no photo’s allowed  inside)

Palace exterior

Another colonade

We headed south after lunch towards Nazare to what turned out to be the bucket and spade, bouncy castle capital of beach resorts we’ve seen to date. Although the natural setting is spectacular, the the beach front was disappointingly tacky. We were hoping to hang here and relax for a few days but that went into the bad idea basket, an hour later we were headed out of town and camped the night in Foz do Arelho just a few km’s down the coast.

Nazare Beach

Nazare Tent City

Rooms for rent

Local girls selling their wares

The campsite for the night was in Foz do Arelho, a relatively unspoilt place where development hasn’t impacted the environment like Nazare, the key feature here is National Park containing a giant lagoon open to the sea.