AWW 19.01.2011: St Vincent´s Special or A Lighthouse before Lunch.

How exactly does a Saint become a Patron Saint.  Does he or she have any say in the matter? Are there forms to be filled in, ballots taken? Be that as it may, one assumes that due protocol was observed so that, during the course of 2010, St. Vincent of Saragossa, a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon,  added the AWWs to his existing patronages and, thanks to careful planning by Rod Frew and Bob Bates, on 19th January we novice patronees  were able to gather together in suitable fashion to pay our respects to the Saint and to thank him for his patronage.
The challenge facing Rod, as leader of the walk preliminary to the event, was to get a somewhat undisciplined or shall we say discipline-resistant bunch of walkers from the Cape to the Forteleza in good time for the ceremonies arranged at the Chapel.  Two weeks before, I had booked local guides when venturing into uncharted territories ( http://aww2010-11.blogspot.com/2011/01/aww-5012011-lost-in-levada-or-ilha-do.html   ) now Rod took a leaf out of my book and, rather as Roger Bannister had used Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway as pacemakers when breaking the 4-minute mile barrier, he had engaged a Hash House Harrier (namely Jim Brownlow) to set the pace down the long long road. And some pace it was, that he set!
And, as most of the route was perforce along the tarmac, he also had Ian Scott and Mike Pease driving up and down shouting encouragements (well, I´m sure that is what they were shouting) at the line of us walkers from the comfort of their limousines – if this had been the Tour de France and we “L´Équippe WWA “ , they would have been boosting our moral with splashes of champagne and other such energy boosters, but no such luck.. ..next year maybe -
 
  The Starters (plus one, minus one)
Ignoring the svelte couple in the far left background, there were 26 Starters. Ian S refused to start, and Jyll Pease caught us up later, making 27.

No.27 knows a flat walk when one comes along.

The Statistics
Created by Pauladev on Android.
“Total Distance: 7.74 km (4.8 mi)
Total Time: 1:56:58
Moving Time: 1:36:22
Average Speed: 3.97 km/h (2.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 4.82 km/h (3.0 mi/h)
Max Speed: 12.89 km/h (8.0 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 75 m (247 ft)
Max Elevation: 117 m (384 ft)
Elevation Gain: 113 m (372 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Wed Jan 19 10:05:02 GMT 2011
Activity type: – who knows?”
 
The Track



Go catch ´em, Alfie


Got ´em

The Leader´s Report

“St.Vincent's Special
 
Leader : Rod
Present (some walking, some only absorbing history, some doing not a lot and some just eating!):
Philip and Susan, Paul and Myriam, John and Hazel, Ingrid, David L, Alex,  Hilke, Terry and Jill
Bob and Diane, Mike and Jyll, Ian W and Diane, Lindsey, Chris and Antje, Tina, Dina, Ian S, Di Wren, Val and Colin,
John O'N, Jim and Deirdre, Peter S, Susan F.
Dogs: Quite a few! (Editorial: walking dogs: Tiggie, Alfie, Amos, Rusty and Jess: guest appearances by Oscar and Maddie.)
 
“This was a special event to celebrate the Saints Day of our Patron. Little physical demands were involved but for once some modest cerebral activity was introduced.....the level of fitness for this unusual exercise was  not generally evident but some seemed near their limit.   The weather was sunny, almost windless (for the area) and cool.  Everyone met up at the Fortaleza, with time to spare indeed (surprisingly, since coffee was not in the immediate vicinity....although some arrived earlier enough to locate a distant source) and the shuttle service to the Cape went smoothly enough not to leave anyone behind.  From there we set off on our very modest 7.6k walk ....no hills to be found and only a very limited amount of stony trail and scrub (specially introduced to remind everyone of our real provenance).




“We arrived back at the Fortaleza more or less when expected and were greeted by our guest of the day Artur de Jesus,  Head of the Câmera de Vila do Bispo Cultural Dept., who had managed to obtain free entrance for us into the Fortaleza....although the average age suggests most of us would have got in nearly free anyway as OAP's  and we evidently looked like it too since dogs were only permitted in if they were guide-dogs!.

No, we are not guide dogs.
“We went straight to the charming little 16th C. Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Graça where Bob, under the gaze of the oldest known statue of St. Vincent  above him, offered a few prayers for our Saint and blessings for the AWW . Artur then regaled us with his encyclopaedic knowledge of local history and legend, both in the Chapel and around the Fortaleza compound. Cerebrally satiated with doubtless already forgotten historical data,  we all  --well nearly all-- gradually repaired to the sunny and warm terrace of the Telheiro Restaurant on nearby Mareta Beach for a pre-lunch drink followed by a  relaxed and lively lunch.
 


 

 

 






Rod presents Artur with a memento

“One hopes that our Patron will have approved of our efforts and treat us well henceforth ....and we mustn't forget he is also Patron Saint of Winemakers so perhaps we should follow up with a suitable celebration of that too!”


One can drink to that and, when one does, this little grace may be appropriate:

Oh Lord, whose power divine
Didst turn the water into wine,
Please forgive us foolish men
About to turn it back again.




Post- publication, Gordon Jackson emailed with photos from England to say:

Thanks John, and a happy new year to you all.

Just to make you a little jealous, our small group walked around the hills above Grasmere last week.

Here you can see the valley, with the village covered in mist, from the edge of Silver How.

Also the Langdales, with Pavey Arc on the right above the lake.. It was a tough 11 mile walk, so we needed a couple of pints of Jennings Cock-a-Hoop to restore our aching limbs.

A few days later our minister (one of the walkers) found a beer brewed by a company named Fuzzy Duck. It was called Cunning Stunt! Try ordering one of those after a couple of pints of Sagres!

Weather is bad here, as expected.

Hope your weather improves.

Gordon