Bureaucracy first, family-friendly hike second

The Loja do Cidadão might be the scariest place in Coimbra, but within this hive of bureaucracy by far the most intimidating balcão (counter) is that of AIMA, Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AKA the agency that handles all migrant processes such as residency permits). If you're from outside of the EU and living in Portugal, you know what we're talking about.

So when, after waiting six months for a renewal appointment, my family was summoned to the town of Oliveira do Hospital to complete an AIMA process, my first thought was, "where the hell is that?" and my second was, "maybe there's good hiking to do there?"

That's right, catching up with backlogs running into the 100,000s means that AIMA often assigns people to far-flung offices that are difficult and costly to reach.

Anticipating a hectic morning trying to reach Oliveira do Hospital from Coimbra by 8:30am (which, by the way, is one hour west of Coimbra, at the southeastern tip of the Serra da Estrela mountains), we had a vague idea that we could matar (kill) the stress with fresh air and a walk. "Killing feelings" isn't very in line with contemporary ideas of regulating feelings and nervous systems, but I sometimes hear people talk like this and I like it.

So we took everything required for a rainy day hike with two smallish children (so, basically snacks, snacks, and more snacks). Having looked up nothing up in advance other than where the AIMA office was located, there were two pleasant surprises about Oliveira do Hospital.

The first was this cheese- and dairy-themed playground featuring a scalable milch cow:

I mean, who doesn't want to ride a wheel of cheese with a view of the mountains in the background?

And the second was a family-friendly hiking area that begins at Açude da Ribeira. The postcard attraction here is the açude or dam itself, which forms a large curtain of water in the spring. But, with late-coming rains in 2025, in late October there wasn't much of a waterfall to write home about.

So, what was worth writing about?

For one, these hand-painted signs complementing the standard yellow-and-red PR (Pequena Rota) trail-markers:

The exquisite detail and loving touches are delightful.

And second, the walk itself featured a mix of gravel roads, a stone bridge, modest rocky inclines, viewpoints, grassy paths, and a fonte (spring)–culminating in large boulders and an attractive serpentine bridge overlooking the açude. In short, all the right elements to both engage and exhaust small children.

Açude da Ribeira is in the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital.

There are three loop trails that begin and end at the parking lot at Açude da Ribeira. With 3km, 4km, and 5km options, all are family-friendly. I highly recommend resisting the temptation to start at the bridge; all trails begin uphill, away from the river and end with stunning views of the valley and the bridge. The majority of the trail is exposed, with modest forest coverage in some sections.

Caution: hunting season runs from 15 August to February (1 October to February in some places, or for javali or boar). Don't let this stop you from going out, but do wear high-visibility clothing.