There is not a lot to talk about today. We shifted south about 150km’s to Coimbra. As we were driving we talked about whether we would take it easy for the day when we arrived or head into town for a recon before exploring it in earnest tomorrow. When we arrived the temperatures were in the high 80’s with about 70% humidity so our motivation for the recon was low. Then when we checked in the lady informed us that the bus drivers were on strike today so there was no public transit available. Since it is about 2.5 miles one way to downtown, it was easy to say that today was a day of rest.
The only thing was we had an oops moment with the road system here. I usually do a quick Google check before we enter a new country to make sure there are not any weird rules I need to know about. For whatever reason I did not do that here. The first toll road had the normal toll both system. Today on a freeway near the campground I noticed a sign announcing a toll and shortly after I saw a large bank of cameras mounted over all three lanes. As soon as we stopped at an Aldi for groceries I googled Portuguese toll cameras, and sure enough on a few of the secondary toll ways they have instituted a camera system and foreign vehicles need to register on a website with a credit card so that you can be charged. I think we will be ok for today as I registered a few minutes after I went thru the toll, but now I remember passing under a similar bank of cameras the first day and wondering what that was all about. So I fear there is a fine in my future for not paying a €2 toll.
Remember, when traveling in Portugal or Brazil, “O crime não compensa“ ♀️
You know us we like to live on the edge. The sad thing is the toll was probably around $2, and the fine will probably be around $100.