Coimbra Coimbra used to be the national capital between the years 1145 and 1255 before the King drove the Moors further southward and Lisbon assumed the honour. It also contains one of the oldest universities anywhere in the world, having been founded in 1290. Therefore it is celebrating its 725th anniversary. It has over 20,000 students drawn from all parts of Portugal and it's old colonial countries such as Brazil and Angola. It was good to take a walk around t...

Condexia a Nova to Coimbra As the rain fell heavily and I put on my rain gear, I paused for a moment to reflect on why I am spending my Sunday morning walking 20kms on roads and woodland tracks on a journey of over four weeks and 600 Kms. I am aware that it would not feature on many people's bucket list, that's for sure! The reasons are fourfold: - Challenge (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually) - Adventure (not knowing what will happen each ...