AWW 22.09.2010 Around Arade Amble, or Dam,Dam,Dam.

During this week´s walk, a certain wise man gave me his recipe for a good blog -"Less of the eloquence, my boy, just the facts." So be it - let the truth be told.

Item: the Leader´s joining instructions - to meet at the car park above the dam - were inaccurate. He convened the start at the Obelisk below the car park.............................

The Obelisk

........................while three of us waited patiently at the car park and, if it hadn´t been for Alex asking at 8.25 a.m. "where on earth is everybody?" , we might well still have been waiting there. So the walk didn´t start promptly.

Item: experienced WWs or not, some people are slow to muster for the Starters photo, standing around with their backs to the camera, chuntering, etc.,etc. So the start of the walk was even more delayed.

The Starters (click to enlarge)

Item: so delayed indeed that Field-Marshall Frew finally lost all patience and dashed off across the dam, stick and pack forgotten in his haste; if it hadn´t been for prompt retrieval action by RCB........................

RCB to the rescue

.......the walk would have fallen even further behind schedule.

Item: the notion in last week´s blog that the said RCB´s reason for going to Fatima was to conduct a recce for the world´s favourite Irish airline was but a flight of fancy.

The truth is that he had, of course, gone there to do some geocaching.

Item: Yves turned up by mistake.
Sporting both main and emergency ´chutes, it seems that he had thought he was going skydiving that morning.

Some more facts

Leader: F-M Rod

Contingent: Yves, Ingrid, Alex, Terry M, David, Chris and Antje, Paul and Myriam, Tina, Janet, Colin, JohnH, John O’N, Ian W.

Dogs: Misty, Tiggy and Rosie.

And now the Leader´s Report

"Around Arade Ramble

"This leader has now done two in a row and is running out of steam...verbally and seemingly mentally since he set off without his bag and stick (no further comments required, thank you!) (Irresistible). Anyway we gathered at the Barragem de Arade for a round the damn wander...weather cool and cloudy earlier but warmed up considerably later.

"Since the last time we had been round to the north side of the damn the Iberian Lynx conservation centre has been built and inaugurated....quite what the overall intention is, other than to keep the ‘greens’ and environmentalists in Brussels happy, is unclear. Releasing the luckless animals into the wilds of today’s Algarve, if that is really their intention, would be a tragedy.

The Lynx Centre perimeter

"The border fence of the Reserve comes right down to the old track for some distance but never blocks it, so we reached the bottom of the Funcho Dam without any complications or noteworthy events.


Janet carries a vision on her back

Funcho snack time

"Returning from there without some cardio vascular exercise was not on so we followed the Via Algarviana route up a side valley and then the ascent (146metres) up to the western ridge. A passing quad bike mounted by a couple of most polite Germans gave one or two of the less energetically inclined the temptation of a lift to the top but it was, of course, resisted.

Cadging a lift

A vision in blue !

"Albeit rather strung out, everyone reached the top.....some even without stopping talking! By then it was really getting quite hot so bearing in mind the season was but young and the participants showing signs of being less so, we headed back without any further diversions. There being no suitable watering holes in this area now we were obliged to drive back to Casinhas for post-walk hydration. "

Behind bars

"And did those feet.....?" (By the way, Myriam, whose are they?)

Hang on; where are the statistics and where is the track?, you´ll be saying.

I haven´t forgotten them. You may have noticed RCB´s preoccupation during the walk with a new bit of kit: a smart phone, no less! With this, he was able to track our path, gather the stats, talk to fellow geocachers on UK mobiles, and walk without falling over all at the same time! And then, wonders of wonders, you can see him here,seated at Casinhas, transmitting both stats and map direct to the JCB´s email. Garmin GPS and pencil and paper rendered obsolete at one press of a button.

"Brilliant isn't it!! If you try different views (map, satellite, earth) you can choose the one you want and save as a picture. If you click on the 'Track 6 End' button on the left you get the stats as collected on the phone, which it seems is even more ego-boosting than the old Garmin. I can't remember breaking into a gallop and hitting 10.95 km/hr though!
I will send the one from Garmin/Google Earth as a picture too.
Paul "

No wonder his excitment was unconfined.

These are the stats he sent (only the time of transmission has to be adjusted.)

Total Distance: 16.14 km (10.0 mi)
Total Time: 4:32:47
Moving Time: 3:36:16
Average Speed: 3.55 km/h (2.2 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 4.48 km/h (2.8 mi/h)
Max Speed: 10.95 km/h (6.8 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 115 m (376 ft)
Max Elevation: 290 m (952 ft)
Elevation Gain: 617 m (2025 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Wed Sep 22 08:30:16 GMT+01:00 2010

One assumes RCB hit 10.95 km/h when sprinting to catch up with Rod at the start.

And this is his track map, followed by mine for comparison purposes.



Factual enough, o wise man?

AWW 15.09.2010: Brazilian Bravura, or Back to School

The heat of summer relented for the season´s first walk; there were even a couple of drops of rain as we took our lunch under a conveniently placed gazebo by the waterside. If you wonder why the Brazilian element in the title, all will become clear as you read on. Of course, there were the usual number of opters-out, with all the usual excuses of having to go to the airport, while two of those normally most critical of Wednesday Airport runners had themselves found the somewhat esoteric excuse of having to go to Fatima. Now one does not knock Fatima, any more than one knocks Knock. Bear in mind, however, that West Airport Knock now caters for more than 630,000 air passengers a year and at least 9 airlines, including the world´s favourite Irish carrier: Fatima must have similar potential. Perhaps RCB was really on a secret aeronautical survey mission on behalf of Michael O`Leary - remember, you read it here first. RCB, by the way, is Terry Mace´s copyright, an acronym to describe Paul who, as far as blogging is concerned, has taken a Trappist-like vow of silence and who therefore can´t answer back.

And now, back to business as normal, we hope.

The Track (courtesy Richard)

(Click to enlarge)

The Statistics (courtesy Ingrid)
total distance: 13.5kms
moving time: 3hrs.13mins
total time: 4hrs.13mins
moving avg: 4.2kph
overall avg: 3.2kph
total ascent: 324m
max elevation: 181m

The Starters

Leader: Rod

Present: Antje, Ingrid, Lindsey, Terry A, Terry M, Dina, Alex, John H.

Dogs: Misty, Tiggy and Rusty.

The Leader´s Report

"Brazilian Bravura or what?

"We set off from the Bravura Dam Hansel and Gretel carpark at 8.30 on a cloudy and much cooler morning. We headed across the Dam and up into the hills. These had been widely cleared of trees and scrub ready for replanting so inevitably old tracks and new became very confused. We tried to keep to the tracks that had not been cleared as much as possible but when forced into the open the reward was splendid views over the lake which was still surprisingly full.

"We worked our way round in wide circle back towards the lake at a very leisurely pace with plenty of stops... as the total stopping time of over 50mins suggests!

"We made one abortive descent towards the lakeside trail....this was probably (definitely) a deliberate detour by our leader to enable him to have a rest on a plastic chair in a quiet lakeside backwater which he made sure he reached before anyone else!

"This meant another ascent back to the ridge track before we eventually descended the correct one.

" Shortly after heading back along the lakeside track the mystery unfurled, or at least a Brazilian flag did, curiously attached to a tree beside the water. After a few moments wondering about the provenance of that, we spied an invoice book complete with copy invoices covering the last couple of years, belonging to a small Lagos building company belonging obviously, from its name, to some Brazilians. A search for some other clues...or maybe even a body!... revealed nothing so the mystery remains unsolved.

"A little bit later, we came upon a lakeside picnic site ....quite comprehensively constructed but unused for a while. This was yet another excuse for a further stop for refreshments..there being no official lunchstop in view of the early start.

"As we got nearer the dam it became obvious that the lakeside track was fast becoming a Hansel and Gretel tourist route....we actually came across two or three other walkers (not very serious ones apparently!).

"And so back to the Hansel and Gretel for a drink (with attentive waiter service, forsooth, and over-attentive wasps -vespas- in attendance) to complete a gentle start to the WW season. Paul and Myriam absented themselves to go to Fatima...so they will at least be better spiritually prepared if not physically!"

And to conclude, a touch of the Brazilian Bravuras from Terry A

(Click to play)