Chugging through the country side in Coimbra, we had no idea what we were doing or where we were going. Jamie had to stop for a while to get spark plugs. Eventually he pointed finger at the map and we ended up at the most divine river swimming and walking spot near Figeiuero Do Vinhos. I couldn't even tell you where it is now - I didn't pin it, nor did I pay much attention.
As it was quite warm and we found ourselves hot and bothered, we sat for a long time with our feet in the cold, cold water, listening to the birds and watching the leaves fall into the river. A beautiful ruin sat across the way and I imagined living there. Just stunning. Eventually I slipped into the water with the fishes and the falling leaves and washed the road off me. Just absolutely magical.
After swimming, we found an awesome park up at Figuera do Vinhos, a gorgeous little village which made us start to see the charm of the Portuguese countryside. The motorhome parking was at a hunting club on hard standing with a tap for water so it felt quite luxurious. We sat and watched the view for a long time and I did some slow and languid yoga to stretch out my road weary back.
As the sun went down it became even more beautiful. We walked down some wooden steps that led into town to drink out tea and watch the view. We were surrounded by flowers, olive trees, gums and wattles. It was one of THOSE evenings, unforgettable and humming with bees.
In we morning we drove down into Figuera do Vinhos for the toilet, and expresso at a cafe (we have become addicted to this as you get a nice sneak into ordinary life in Portugal for the one euro it costs for a caffeine hit). We caught a real estate taking photos of the car. He said he'd swap it for a house. We were tempted...what a fun project it would be. If only I didn't surf and didn't care for my family in Australia.
After visiting Talasnal, which I talked about in my last post, we headed to a 4x4 track through some beautiful heather and gum forest and gorgeous meadows.
We were going to camp there but instead decided to go to Cabril do Ceira, another amazing river swimming place.
Then to Gois, where we got stupid drunk on Liqor Beirao, Portugal's biggest selling spirit and made of a combination of herbs including anis. We liked it, with lots of ice and a bit of lemon to tone down the sweet. We only drank that much as we met a couple of expats who lived there and insisted that they buy us drinks. They too offered to buy the Land Rover. We said no, and woke up with hangovers.
Gois was a super pretty spot. It was a lovely little town with walking spots along the river, an old water wheel or mill, and so on. I could see why people wanted to live here.
Sunday was spent doing washing at the Intermarche and eating pastel de nata, as you do. We figured if we had hang overs we may as well waste the day doing washing as well.
After that we headed for a shady campsite near Arginil which was also a beautiful spot. Here we were getting so close to 
With Love,
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