We were aiming for Coimbra as our next destination so from Lisbon, we followed the Rio Tejo valley north past Santarem, Alcanena, Ourem and Leira. We found a campsite that sounded appealing on the banks of the river Ava in the Serra da Estrella natural park east of Coimbra. The spot was so relaxing and, with the opportunity to spend a day walking in the surrounding hills for a bit of exercise, we decided to stay an extra night and drop the visit to Coimbra. Coimbra is an important regional centre outside Lisbon and Porto and served as the capital of Portugal between 1131 and 1255.  It is also known for its cultural life, revolving around its university (the oldest in Portugal). The fact that it is its university rather than a castle that dominates the city, Ivan said in Lisbon, speaks volumes for the priorities of the city and is its greatest virtue.  It is therefore a shame that we gave Coimbra a miss but we have had to make choices on this journey and come to terms with the fact that we can’t see everything and be everywhere without tiring ourselves out.

In the early evening, as we were approaching our spot on the river Ava and climbed higher and higher before descending down the valley, it was as if we’d entered a land of Gothic fairy tales or stepped into a Constable painting. It was impossible not to stop and get out of the van to take photos of the scenes beneath us.

The Parque Campismo was in the peaceful village of Ponte das 3 Entradas on the banks of the river Avo. It was run by a Dutch couple, small, friendly and laid back with a hippyish bar and a communal kitchen area – a bit like a commune, with guests even helping with tidying and pulling out weeds in the grounds.

At the entrance to the campsite is a poem written on a piece of slate.  It’s by the local poet, Dr Vasco de Campos, who lives in the village.  Later we saw short verses and poems by him dotted all around the village and in the next village along.  This one read something like (this is very rough guessing as I forgot to ask someone to translate it properly):

“Welcome travellers to the tent that gives you shelter; here you’ll find peace, you will not find arrogance; the clear waters of the Alva endlessly sing a happy song under the shade of our mountains, dearest friend of all Nature”.

There was access to the river and we were invited to get in but the water was dark and on finding out that we might encounter the odd ‘harmless’ river snake, we gave the idea of a swim a miss and went out in search of a meal instead.  This involved a brisk 2 km walk out of the village to get to the Verandas Verdes which we were told served wholesome country food and had marvelous views over the valley.  The latter was true and as for the food, our main courses were unremarkable but the starter which we hadn’t asked for and was plonked in front of us was interesting country food – slices of tightly-packed meat and rice wrapped in sausage skin with rough country bread.  We went for the house wine from the region which turned out to be very pleasant – it was made mainly from the Touriga Nacional grape which we hadn’t heard of before.

The temperature had reached  32 degrees that afternoon, but by nightfall, it dropped sharply and it got pretty chilly during the night – again, we regretted getting rid of that extra blanket! In the morning though, the weather was absolutely perfect.  Our plan was to set off on an 8 km walk over the hills to the village of Avo and back along the other side of the river.  We were advised to leave early as the temperature rises quite quickly but predictably enough, it was nearly midday by the time we set off.  It was a hot and challenging walk but enjoyable nonetheless. White ribbons had been tied to branches etc along the way to guide us.  In Avo, as we stopped for a coffee and a snack, the river looked more enticing so as usual, I had to have a dip, before realizing that on the other side of the village there was a river beach I could have used instead of getting stung by nettles and cut by sharp stones underfoot.

In the evening, we decide to have a simple meal of tuna fish salad followed by gnocchi with the rest of a bolognese sauce we’d made earlier in the week  – much needed carbo-loading after the walk.

We leave refreshed in the morning and head for Porto.