Tomar

I left Viseu after lunch and tried to follow the N2. It proved to be impossible. The road just does not exist anymore, except for some very small parts. The surprise was that the road was leading me to Coimbra. When i started this journey i didn't wanted to go to Coimbra. It's a part of the other way to Santiago. I had no choice, i had to go there. I even thought it would be workable the road through Arganil, but they just are a labyrinth of small mountain roads. I would just get lost in the process.

Coimbra is the home of the oldest (at least we learn that in school) university in Europe. It also has a cathedral and army outposts. It was also the first capital of the new Portuguese kingdom, just after Guimarães. I never got to Coimbra, i had to choose to go in the new IC3 to Leiria or the A1 to Fatima. I have chosen Fatima because i new the road, even if i would pass through Fatima before getting to Tomar. It was a mistake. the new IC3 was the most probable track taken when using the more interior route.

I managed to get to Tomar at the end of the afternoon. I looked for an hotel and i had only one viable choice, it was the "Hotel dos Templarios", Templar Knights hotel. It was getting promising. Tomar is a nice town and deserves a visit. They have a small river, the Nabão. In the banks they have a park with some old Arabic hydraulic works and an old metal work. This was getting more and more interesting, even before climbing the hill leading to "Convento de Cristo" inside the templar's castle.

I had dinner, watched the transmission of the triple jump final where we got a gold medal and went to bed. Next day would be the most important of this journey.