AWW 16.03.2011: Alferce Alfresco

Attentive readers will remember that, a few weeks ago, Terry M made apt reference to the book “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman”  a.k.a. a Cock and Bull Story. T.S. is characterised by its “digressive-progressive “ narrative style, which is actually a pretty good description of what an AWW blog should aim at, given the way some of our walks go. Therefore, “It must follow as the night the day” (Hamlet, Act 1, scene 3) that the ideal blogger is a natural with that style when saying a lot about not very much. Please bear that quality in mind when considering who should step up to next season´s JCB post; there is no deadline yet for submitting your nominations. I will return to this theme at a later date – don´t forget to remind me. Meanwhile, let´s on with news of this Wednesday´s Walk.

  The Starters, somewhere between two bars
Leader: Rod
Present: John O'N, David L, Ian W, John and Hazel, Hedley, Dina, Tina, Lindsey, Janet, Yves,  Peter S, Myriam, and Paul (briefly!), and birthday boy Frank.
Dogs: Misty, Rosie, Shelley, Cybele.

The Track
The statistics, provided by Myriam, deputising for Paul, as follows:
Total Dist: 15 km
Total Time: 5hrs 15 min.
Moving Time: 4 hrs 21 min
Moving Avg.: 3.4 km/hr
Overall Avg.: 2.8 km/hr
 
The Leader´s Report:
“We gathered, well were supposed to, at a bar which was on the wrong side of the road but was closed anyway. As it happened there was another one round the corner which was on the right side of the road but was on the left. Despite all that, everyone who had checked in, and some!, turned up.
“Splendid bright morning, clear and cool NE wind...just right for Picota.  
“Before we had achieved 200m (distance that is, not even height!) the RCB suffered engine failure and was forced to retire..there was a lengthy pause for dietary and medical consultation with Myriam while various items of navigational equipment and alimentation were transferred to her capacious backpack..and then on we went, up through the quaintly named village of Alto de Baixo and straight up a dead-end, the first evidence on the day of our leader's failing memory.....well it was several years since we had been there and he claimed it was not a dead-end then!  A long gradual (sic) climb followed, eliciting not a few almost audible wheezings until, after a welcome breather under an Old Oak Tree, we disappeared into the woodlands of Picota´s eastern flanks.

Old Oak Tree
(At this point, we had climbed 202 metres up from Alferce, virtually without pause.)

“A curious but memorable outcrop of granite proved we were on the right track  and so we carried on up ever wilder paths....so wild indeed that one which in times past was just navigable had disappeared under the brambles.

Leader says no way through
 

“ By now we were on top of the long Picota ridge with its splendid views in all directions but our leader determined that further exercise was needed and descended on the northern side on an experimental track, hitherto never traversed nor recce'd.  Needless to say this descended further than he anticipated and he was forced to retrace steps......as it happened, upon checking Google Earth later, he found that he was not so wrong; had we advanced another 50 m we would have joined the upward path!  In the event we ascended through a nascent eucalyptus grove back to the ridge and joined a narrow path along the top.  This led us eventually to better known parts at the foot of the final ascent to Picota itself.

Picota in view
“A minor mutiny threatened but she eventually conceded and came up the final few metres!  This was well worth it for the horizon was unusually clear ..the views were amazing and even Sagres and The Cape were just visible.
(From the Old Oak Tree to the Picota trig point, we had climbed a further 236 metres.)

“The clearest day up here that I can remember” the Leader was quite clear about that.
 
 Panorama from Monchique to the North and the East

and to the South and West


(While we relaxed and soaked in the views, Myriam risked life and limb all for the sake of the paparazza´s art)


Her aerial view

The Odelouca barragem from Picota
“After a lengthy lunch on the sheltered lee side of the peak, which even the minor mutiny appreciated, we wandered off downwards...via a different route. This took us through the lush and fertile valleys of Corte Grande on the southern slopes of Picota and indeed right past the front doors of two farms whose somewhat startled owners and even more startled dogs actually, after a brief chat, gave us quite a warm welcome. And so back to our start point and back to the bar on the left.
“This turned into quite a party...two birthdays and St. Patrick proved a good enough reason for a party. First, JohnO filled the girls´glasses with ample slugs of Carolans, an Irish whiskey concoction, in celebration of the Saint´s day....then,Yves, doubtless ashamed of the French  victory over Ireland (even if they couldn't repeat it against the Italians) produced from nowhere an endless supply of Guinness and two cakes, baked by himself, and covered in a hectic shade of green.

A view from the bar
“Even the sleepy village of Alferce was woken into some sort of activity and a few of the younger population turned out to get their slice of cake...it all ended in uproar when the dogs joined in and upended a table loaded with bottles, glasses and cake......will we ever be welcomed in Alferce again.?”

Just before the crash

Lindsey rescues a Guinness




Cakes and Ale.
Thanks, guys, but does that mean that Ian W and JohnH will have to provide haggis and Drambuie on Wednesday 30th November 2011 (St Andrew´s Day)?

AWW 09.03.2011: Três Figos and no Fountain

 

A blog writer´s dream…….Tina´s puncture and a silver-tongued Leader together mean that this blog is virtually autogenous. Let´s go straight into Paul´s report.

“AWW 09.03.2011: Três Figos and no Fountain.

“I think the sobriquet ‘Rain Maker’ which in the past I confess I merited, can now be laid to rest.     ‘Sun King’?  may be a little OTT.  Pretentious – Moi?
The fact of the matter is that, after a weekend of storms and long periods of lashing rain, not least during my recce on the day before with Ian S. riding shotgun in the G-Wagen, and a pessimistic forecast for the day of the walk, apart from a cloudy start and a few drops of rain in the 500 metres before we reached the shelter of Casa Pacheco, we enjoyed glorious sunshine and blue skies.
The recce was another matter. I had intended, with the assistance of modern technology and copious emailed notes and co-ordinates from Mike,the originator of the walk, to recreate his walk from Café Cansado, last attempted in 2008.
Alas, less than 300 m from the start point, where we should have headed into the scenery to climb to a ridge, we encountered a roadside torrent which could hardly have been more than a dribble in 2008. It was too wide for me to jump (even with a run-up) and too deep and too early in the walk to paddle, so with Ian S. commenting sagely from the front seat of the G-Wagen, we carried along the road to a track with a decent bridge. Things were going well until we got to another raging torrent which would have required scuba gear, so we wisely decided to leave Cansado to another day.
A quick recce of my favourite area round Romeiras, showed that we could accomplish a walk on fairly wide paths with no water jumps, should the weather be as forecast. It was a tribute to our modern communications that the late change of venue circulated at 1400 hrs on the day before the walk, resulted in acknowledgements from all who had previously signed up for the proposed Cansado walk.
Wednesday morning loomed grey and cloudy, but no rain, and things were going just a bit too well. Myriam and I set off early to give Dona Aldina time to fire up the coffee machine before the arrival of the AWW. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) Tina had also decided to set off early, and as we drove along the road a couple of km’s north of Colinas Verdes, we spotted the damsel in distress parked at the side of the road. She had apparently been proceeding in an orderly fashion along the highway when a rock laying in the road had jumped sideways and taken her front nearside tyre out.
Out came the handbook, and we set to trying to work out how to lower the spare tyre from under the boot of her pristine Renault.  I had almost got to the point of giving up on the tyre release mechanism, and other AWWs were gradually arriving at the scene, turning it into a social occasion, when Hedley, with hands like spanners, nay JCB diggers, forced the lever forward and the tyre gently lowered onto the road.

Hedley´s engineering skills triumphant.

“Changing the wheel would not have been too much of a problem, but alas the car was parked on a sandy verge, which although giving the appearance of solidity, failed to hold as the car lifted on the jack.
The car was repositioned with some tarmac under the wheel, and with John H. demonstrating the art of loosening wheelnuts with carefully weighted kung fu kicks, (which I later emulated) the tyre was soon changed; as he commented “This Blog is writing itself!” (Yes indeedy.)

“ I´m OK now that Les BMA have arrived…..”

“….and Paul is doing all the hard work!”

“We all still arrived at Casa Pacheco before the appointed 0930 hrs, although the coffee machine had still to be started, but I magnaminously (sic) declared a delayed start to enable caffeine infusion.
As it was, we drove back down to Três Figos in 3 cars for the start and, after the opening photo, we still set off at 0950 hrs.

“By 10 am the skies had cleared to an acceptable shade of blue and the sun was on our backs, as we began the long climb to the N267 Marmelete Road. The track was wide and flat and enabled 4 abreast conversations, mostly on Rugby, the Cricket World Cup, the demise of Arsenal against Barca and referees in general. There may have been some shopping,  fashion or grandmothering chats among the ladies, but these I do not recall!

The start of the long climb.

“I didn’t hear any complaints about the longish stretch of tarmac from the top of climb to the beginning of descent above Loiros (sic), but it seems to be an insurmountable problem to go off road here without descending into very steep valleys or suddenly heading off in completely the wrong direction.
Above Loiros, even though it was still before midday thanks to our rapid progress, I found a very agreeable lunch spot with its own pond, and banks to sit in the sun. Bella rather let herself down by stealing one of Janet’s apples - but it is in her nature to forage.

 

View over Loiro.

“There was a short stretch of steep downhill after lunch - a shortcut back to the  track where we happily posed above a blooming bank of some unidentified but cultivated flowers.

No doubt, Lindsey will put her gardening hat on and identify the flowers for us.

Near Malhão, Tina thinks she has found alternative transport……

….but then realises she´s being watched by CCTV.

“Once on the valley floor we fairly raced along, until on the climb from Malhão the sky became a leaden grey, and despite reassuring all that it would not rain before we reached Romeiras, I secretly placed a wager with myself that the skies would open as is obligatory, about 500 metres before safety. Of course, as we reached the Romeiras road, a few spots started to fall and became slightly heavier for those at the rear of the group, but not even enough to dampen spirits.

“Now, where exactly did I leave my sunglasses?”

”Myriam drove the drivers back to Três Figos to retrieve their cars, and returned in time to mount a plastic chair in the middle of the road to record this strangely subdued picture of  the AWW ostensibly enjoying their drinks. Perhaps they didn’t ‘give a fig’ – or three!

Paparazzi have right of way.

“I don't give a fig!”

Meaning: Complete lack of concern about an event

“Origin: This phrase comes from the Spanish fico (fig) which gave its name to a traditional gesture of contempt made by placing the thumb between the first and second fingers. The gesture was common in Shakespeare's time and was known as The Fig of Spain. The modern-day equivalent is the "V" sign.”

Stats:-
Total Distance: 14 km
Total Time:       3hrs 40 min
Moving Time:   3 hrs
Overall Avg.:    3.8 km/hr.
Moving Avg:    4,6 km/hr
Total Ascent:    281 m.
Max Elevation: 354 m.

The Track

And that is Paul´s report, a very thorough one, I´m sure you will agree; almost as thorough as the dissertation he entertained us with over our beers about the superior merits of his preferred brand of hat.This went on at such length that Tina surmised that he was rehearsing for Mastermind (which is why he is off to UK in April) with T***** hats as his specialist subject.

Lindsey prefers the more adaptable Barbour…versatile certainly but not  a T*****

 

Rod sports a Peter Storm….. but can´t match Paul´s favourite model for sharp looks.

Fifteen minutes of this and by that stage, Janet was reduced to tears of rage and had a rant. Then the donkey tethered across the road joined in and, together, the two of them brought the sales pitch to a close.

Do remember that lines are now open for nominations to the post of Chief Blogger for next year; you will agree that, with his report this week, RCB has staked a pre-eminent claim to be re-appointed.

Let´s close with some music, the opening few lines of the lyrics being appropriately….

“Grab your coat and get your hat.
Leave your worries on the doorstep.
Just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street.”

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Post-script (thanks to Myriam for reminding us)

Leader: Paul

Walkers: Rod, Hedley, Myriam, Lindsey, Janet, Tina, Dina, Ian W, Frank, Hazel and JohnH.

Dogs: Bella, Misty.

AWW 2.03.2011: Carrapeteira Revisited, or The Case of the Dyslexic Dog

 

The Calçadas of Carrapateira

“It isn´t be much fun being a dyslexic dog. True, one gets ferried about in considerable style and one does not always have to walk home, but the speeds at which the 2 litre Peugeot Whittlemobile travels make it very difficult for one to decipher the road signs accurately. To the majority of sentient creatures, Carrapateira is simply a place name and only that; but when one has a tendency to transpose one´s A´s and one´s R`s, the word becomes an open invitation to mess up.” And for poor Tiggy, the pristine calcadas of Carrapateira Cima were irresistible. We will not mention Antje´s boots.

But before that incident, Hilke had welcomed Hedley back, Antje had marshalled the troops and the usual Starter pic had been snapped, all as near to the 9.30 am start as made no difference..

All the Starters

The track was relatively familiar to most of us but, none the less, very pleasant going indeed.

 

Before we go on to the Leader´s Report, time for the Statistics and a Commercial Break, courtesy of Paul the RCB:

“ The stats were:
Total Distance:    17.55 km
Total Time:         4hrs 51 min.
Moving Time:      4 hrs
Overall Avg.:      3.6 km/hr
Moving Avg.:       4.3 km/hr
Total Ascent:      441 m.
Max Elevation:    144 m.
Tilley Count: A respectable 5 with Rod showing interest in the Tilley AirFlo for the near future. (I would recommend the LTM-6 AirFlo:-
http://www.tilley.com/LTM6-AIRFLO-Nylamtium-Hat.aspx,   or the LTM-8 AirFlo:- http://www.tilley.com/LTM8-Mesh-AIRFLO-Nylamtium.aspx )
Can Andrew be won over after only purchasing a  Barbour for Lindsey, which frankly didn't compare with those Tilleys sported by Antje and Celianne ?”

(Comments and answers to Paul, on a postcard, please.)

The Leader´s Report

CARRAPEITERA RE-VISITED (AGAIN)

Leader: Chris

Walkers : Paul & Myriam, Tina, John O'N, Hedley, Janet, Rod, Alex, 
Dina, Lindsey, Ian W, Celeanne, Hilke, John & Hazel, & 
Antje.

Dogs : Tiggy, Misty and Harry

“ On a bright sunny spring morning 17 hardy walkers and 3 dogs met at 
the Cafe Bravo in Carrapeitera for yet another repeat of this popular 
West Coast walk. The main difference this time that was that we were 
able to enjoy the superb early spring weather for a change. Not a 
cloud in sight, so no vistas of rain sweeping in from the West which 
had been a feature on previous walks here. A little cool at the 
start, but soon layers were being stripped off after the first climb 
up to the trig point above the town. Excellent views all round, time 
for the obligatory photoshot.

Trig 1

“ A steady pace took us through Beiçudo, where Rod paid his usual social call at the stables,and onto the tourist village of Vilarinha. New and re-built houses seem to be 
popping up everywhere in this area, but fortunately they still seem 
to blend in with the scenery.

Tina entertains us on her edible harmonica

Alex smooths the savage beast of Vilarinha

“ Then onwards and upwards to the next 
trig point, with barely a brief halt for a photo before everyone 
became chilled by the cold wind now blowing in from the sea. Despite 
the cold wind we were still able to enjoy the short inland loop 
before heading back towards the coast.

Trig 2

Those thorns are really sharp

“Two pallets of Spanish interlocking bricks.. why here?”

“ The usual mutterings about the distance to the lunch spot prompted the leader to choose an 
unfamiliar hilltop, which whilst providing shelter from the chill 
wind didn't satisfy the requirement for park bench standards of 
seating, Nevertheless the other three requirements were satisfied, 
namely bushes for shelter and conveniences and a good view, if one 
remained standing.

Convenient shelters

The group head down towards the beach

“ Continuing on towards Praia do Amado we did pass 
our usual lunch spot in The Grove, where previously we had been glad 
of the shelter from inclement weather. Access to the optional climb 
to admire the view of the beach was thwarted by a wide expanse of 
standing water in the usually dry riverbed and an incoming tide.

“ So with hardly a pause to take in the views it was heads down and back 
to the welcoming sight of Cafe Bravo basking in the warm sunshine. A 
respectable pace for a relatively undemanding and uneventful walk 
seems to have enjoyed the approval of all who took part, as always. 
Other possibilities  for variants do exist on the West Coast, which 
hopefully we can enjoy next time when the tides are in our favour.”

Paparazza, black carrots, and a damaged Tilley.

Sunglasses a la mode

Synchronised stretchers

After the usual refreshments, two sub-committees met; the Dining sub-committee (Janet and Tina) are looking for suggestions for a venue for the summer lunch, while the Appointments sub-committee (Ian W and JohnH) are of the view that the Blog is in danger of becoming too Scottish and would welcome nominations for a Joint Chief Blogger of a different background for the next season…lots of time to think about it.

Off-piste, the Translation sub-committee (convener – Yves) has agreed that it is time to put Paul out of his misery and to divulge that  “Baladeur” is the accepted French for a “Walkman”.

And to conclude, the tune which earlier we saw Tina playing - the “Banana Boat Song” of course.

Going bananas