A lone early riser,by the banks of Rio Arade, dreams as rosy-fingered dawn colours the silent Funcho backwaters.
Suddenly, her reverie is shattered by the deep-throated roar of mighty engines……..enter a supercharged Berlingo de ville, and other vintage models; the Wednesday Walkers have arrived.
The Starters
The Track
Present:
Leader: Rod
Dina, Frank, Chris and Antje, John and Hazel, Tina, David, Paul and Myriam, Terry A, Maria, Yves
Dogs: Tiggy, Rosie, Rusty, Shelley, Misty
The Official Statistics (per RCB´s wunderpod)
Tot distance : 23.8
Tot time: 6:35
Moving time: 5:25
Overall avg.: 3.6
Moving avg.: 4.4
Tot ascent: 585
Max elev.:264
The Leader`s Report
“Billed as a 25k plus walk to get in trim for the RTC, we nearly made it but not quite!
“On a pleasant, warm November day with showers threatening we set off along the mudflats of the half empty dam lake.....pleasingly flat and cut off a number of otherwise long inlet detours on the lakeside track. This took us as far as the subaqua primary school, under a couple of metres of water when the the lake is full but currently open for business.
The subaqua school
“Shortly after this ( once Rosie had agreed to rejoin the group) we were obliged to return to the main track taking us up to the high ridge forming an arm of the lake.
Great views from up there, especially of helicopters employed by EDP, moving, removing or simply planting pylons over the countryside.
On the far side of the ridge we followed a contour track looking over the main body of the lake before gradually descending to water level which we achieved this time without managing to lose Hazel! (although Frank managed to antagonise a seasonally disorientated bee, Myriam´s vacuum tube to the rescue.)The odd shower caused some to don impermeables but most hoped for the best and indeed the showers didn’t last.
Les Impermeables
Some sported fascinators
Others played gadget games
“A sharp ascent and descent took us to the end of the arm of the lake and onto the track leading up to Talurdo. Halfway up here our leader suddenly ran out of steam....poor fuel, engine misfiring?...undiagnosed but caused some consternation and delay! That over we reached the curious village of Talurdo; this seems to survive, economically anyway, on medronho. The only sign of life was a rather fierce looking woman looking as though she was ready to take on the liquor excise inspectors, and a chimney pouring forth smoke and fumes which left one in no doubt as to what was brewing beneath it. Sadly no-one appeared to offer us any!
“We reached the tarmac of the Silves/ S.Marcos road and then immediately turned off up to the top of the ridge. On the way up it became clear they really were keen on their medronho around these parts because they had actually, and most unusually since they are normally just scattered around the wild, created a small medronheiro plantation. There the intended track was now chained off discouraging but not forbidding entry, so we carried on. This gradually descended the long, very attractive valley to Bougado, halfway down which we stopped for lunch. At the bottom of this one of the remotest houses and barns, and a small dam, has been built. Painted but unfinished and uninhabited, who put it there and why is open to imagination.
Blasted paparazzi - can´t even lunch in peace
“After skirting around this we returned to the original lakeside track. This winds along the lakeside for e few kilometres before climbing back up over the ridge. At that point, as we were somewhat behind schedule owing in no small part to our leader’s misfiring engine...by then functioning more or less normally...we opted to take the most direct route back. This meant a very sharp descent to water level and a return along the mudflats.
“As I was walkin´ doon the road
I met a coo: a bull b´god!” (McGonagall – attrib.)
“What time are the evening classes?”
“This saved us 4 or 5 kilometres (For small mercies…..) but even so the walk took us to 24ks.
We repaired to a watering hole in Messines aptly named, in view of the efforts of the co-chief blogger, João de Deus.”
“Let thy words be few” ( Ecclesiastes 5:2)
Not at all a bad motto for a reluctant blogger, so I´ll just remind you of the caption competition: 3 pictures, 2 in the 27.10.10 blog and one in the 3.11.10 blog. The prizes will be wine of a certain vintage, at the Christmas Lunch probably. You don´t have to do it via Blog Comment. Most of us haven´t got the hang of that; just send me an email.
"It had been hard for him that wrote it to have put more truth and untruth together in few words than in that blog....."
ReplyDelete(almost) From 'The Essays' Francis Bacon
Re the CB's last line, the results of these caption competitions will be about as transparent as the Strictly Come Dancing results if private emails are allowed!!
ReplyDelete