History and Culture on the Camino : Cernache to Coimbra
History and Cultural on the Camino Portuguese Pilgrimage Some days you win, and some days you lose. Today we won. As people in the dorm began to stir, around 5:30 AM, we could hear the rain pelting against the windows. Since we only had a short walk today, 12 km, we decided to stay put for a while to see if the weather would improve. When we headed out around 6:45 AM, the rain had stopped and everything was bathed in a soft morning light. We stopped on the way out of town for a coffee and croissant at the Pastelaria where we had dinner last night. The place was packed with event volunteers for today's Freedom Day celebrations, and the energy was high. We passed band stands, food truck vendors, and many volunteers with brightly coloured vests as we walked the light-strewn streets out of town. The path took us up into the hills almost immediately, down a very wet but well-used forested track. The sheer variety of different tree species in Portugal left us amazed o...