Your legs keep turning on their own, so let your mind wander. There’s no real mountain in this stage, and the highest point stays low. But the hours add up, about 8 in total. You descend more than you climb, and you’ll only feel that later, in your knees. So do take a proper break halfway and sit down.
The closer you get to Coimbra, the busier it gets around you. The Caminho Português Interior also starts here, via Viseu. If you want to go that way, this is where you turn off. If you’re staying on this route, you walk into the city and watch it loom up ahead: Coimbra, on the Mondego, with the old university on top of the hill. You climb one last time through narrow streets, rucksack still on, and then you can sit down and join in.