Rapid Adjustments

Last week, we planned to stay at Quinta do Luzio until the end of the first week in April. Unfortunately, our plans changed rapidly Monday night after there was turmoil between the permanent residents of the farm. We still are unclear on exactly what happened and exactly what the future of the farm is, but we had to leave within a few days to give them space to figure out their future plans, organizational system, and management dynamic.

With a new deadline in mind, we spent Monday night baking bread and spending time with the remaining volunteers, two German boys who recently graduated high school.

We stayed up later than we had since the end of 2013, then spent the next day washing clothes and gathering our things. 2 hours before we left, we heard the mail truck arrive. When one of Quinta do Luzio's residents brought in the mail, she handed me a package that my mom sent 3 weeks before. At that point, I was sure it wouldn't arrive before I left; the surprise made my morning.

Wednesday afternoon, we continued with our travel plans and headed to Coimbra, where we spent a couple of nights. The view from our hostel:

 We walked around the Univeristy of Coimbra, founded in 1290, and through the city streets. We got coffee and pastries (pastel de nata, the quintessential Portuguese pastry) in a cafe that was formerly a church. The cafe maintained its original stained glass windows, and the women's bathroom was located in the confessional box.

After Coimbra, we headed to Porto and wandered through old, gritty streets with tiled buildings that sprawled through hills and down to the river. It was rainy and foggy, but beautiful and full of character. The city sits at the corner of the Douro River, upon whose banks the city was built, and the Atlantic Ocean. 

Soon we will be in Spain, and are hoping for sunnier weather than we have had the past two weeks, and for really great sangria.