AWW 23.03.2011: Five (+2) Go To Ameixal

 
This was a long, long lateral walk. That is why the track comes in four parts, reading from the north
(where they finished) to the south.
 

The track part 4

The track part 3

The track part 2

The track part 1

Hats off to the intrepid few; no brownie points for the rest of us.
The Leader´s Report and his photos, which came complete with captions
The intrepid adventurers: Tina, Dina, John O’, Terry A, David (the leader).
Their faithful four-footed friends: Rusty and Rosie.
At one stage it seemed as if no-one would undertake this trek at all. Many and varied were the reasons for absence. Rod was plumbing in England, Janet baby-sitting ditto, Lindsey was entertaining aged parent, Bob on official engagement, etc, etc. One absentee did put in a surprise late appearance – see below. The walk description did nothing to add to the numbers, with late withdrawals up to 48 hours before the start. The leader himself wondered on the previous Saturday evening whether he had overreached himself, having recc’ed the whole route on the first really warm day of the year, and got rather hot and bothered in the process. Despite it all, however, the five plus two gathered at Besteiros ‘A’ in bright sunshine at the appointed hour. Terry, with a hand resembling that of Frankenstein’s creation, had generously agreed to station a car at Ameixial the previous evening, and Dinah was on standby to pick up anyone wishing to avail themselves of the drop-out point.

‘The Famous Five’ plus the 2 FF-FF.
The whole walk took place in excellent weather for the task, with a good breeze that never allowed the heat to become a problem. Hazard number one was the Rio Seco, about half an hour into the walk, which was far from dry. The three crossings were effected without mishap, most of the group hobbling in bare feet or flip-flops from one to the next.

‘Eyes Down for sticklebacks’
Then followed the fairly stern test of the double-stage climb to the Ludeu ridge, but in the conditions no-one seemed to suffer unduly. A pause for recovery was taken.

‘The Taking of Hill 2’
Shortly before this, Rosie was spotted chasing a large black pig across the countryside, but true to her increasingly disciplined self, she returned quite quickly.
As the group moved towards the public road at the summit of the ridge, ominous sounds were heard, and dust clouds seen to rise ahead. Practice sessions or exploratory runs were taking place along the route of the Rally of Portugal, scheduled for the weekend. Fortunately the first stretch of Rally route encountered was fairly short, and most of the dust was avoided by walking on the windward side of the road. The next stage of the walk followed the long descent towards the isolated settlement of Fornalha, tucked away in a deep valley. The usual undulating route through the mato was followed by a most pleasant stroll along the valley floor, crossing and re-crossing the small stream there.
 
‘Blossom near Fornalha’
Lunch was taken just before the village, sitting on a convenient wall, facing a very efficiently-planted new olive grove. And very peaceful it was, too.

‘Fornalha’
After climbing the hill through Fornalha, we re-joined the route of the Rally for the rather tedious trek up to the N2. Approaching a couple of marshals near the road, we clicked off our stop-watches, but they didn’t seem interested in taking down our time.
Dust was rather harder to avoid, and the four-legs had to be on the lead for some distance. The proposed drop-out point on the N2, after 14.6k, came as something of a relief. After some hesitation, Dina decided that she would complete the walk, so Dinah’s services were not, in the event, required.

‘At the drop-out point – rally marshals in the background’
The whole group therefore proceeded to Part Two, walking to the edge of Cavalos before turning off the main road again and heading across country towards Besteiros ‘B’. This section involved more high-level ridge-walking, followed by a descent through pines which were giving off a wonderfully heavy scent. In the valley once more, the Rally route was joined for a third time, but the rehearsals seemed to have stopped, as we were not troubled on this section. Then into a small but delightful green valley before ascending to Besteiros ‘B’, which has its own special charm. Apart from being home to at least one medronho still, one inhabitant has his own take on artwork.

‘Two in a bed’ (taken in 2010)

‘He was very pleased to see us’
Dina fell into conversation with a lady of the village, who caused a slight panic by telling her that we were going the wrong way for Ameixial. When we turned off towards the nearby trig point, however, she realized that we did not wish to go via the estrada but via the crazy walker’s route, and all was well. In the event, the trig point was missed out, (but see the one I took much earlier):

‘The trig we missed.’ (taken in 2010)
and the group wandered down yet another undulating track into the valley in front of Ameixial. The town was reached after a final ascent, with Rosie showing the way after the leader had proposed a rather steeper climb. John O’ seemed rather puzzled that the cars were not awaiting us, and had to be gently told that this had been a linear walk. The first café, close to where Terry had parked near the cemetery, proved to be closed, so a final stroll along the main street was required to reach the usual bar opposite the petrol station. There followed a fairly brief but very pleasant spell of relaxation in the sun before the tortuous drive back to Besteiros ‘A’.

‘Cork stack outside Ameixial’

‘We Happy Few’
Sorry, forgot the stats. Only two available - if I can get hold of Terry later there may be more.
Distance 23k
Time 6.5 hours.
 
Walking towards the bar in Ameixial, we passed a stone monument, erected in 2009, with an inscription ‘Homenagem as Camionistas’ etc. (Sorry no photo, bar was calling). I suddenly realized that Ameixial is the Portuguese equivalent of Shap village in Cumbria, on the route of the old A6, where all the lorry drivers used to stop for a meal or a bed on their way to and from Scotland. The two places even have similar characteristics – linear form, petrol station and cafes etc along the main road. Until the coming of the IC1 and the A2, this was the main road to Lisbon, as long-time residents will know very well. So, I have the excuse for my (extended) quotation this week.
“I'm Champion at Keeping 'em Rolling”
(Ewan MacColl)
“I am an oldtimer, I travel the road
I sit on me wagon and lumber me load
My hotel is the jungle, a caf's me abode
And I'm well known to Blondy and Mary
My liquor is diesel oil laced with strong tea
And the old highway code was my first A B C
And I cut my eyeteeth on an old A E C
And I'm champion at keeping 'em rolling
I've sat in my cabin and broiled in the sun
Been snowed up on Shap on the Manchester run
I've crawled through the fog with my 22 tons
Of fish that was stinking like blazes
From London, Glasgow to the Newcastle quay
From Liverpool, Preston and Bristol City
The polones on the road give the thumbs sign to me
For I'm champion at keeping 'em rolling
You may sing of your soldiers and sailors so bold
But there's many and many a hero untold
Who sits at the wheel in the heat and the cold
Day after day without sleeping
So watch out for the cops and slow down at the bends
Check all your gauges and watch your big ends
And zig with your lights when you pass an old friend
You'll be champion at keeping 'em rolling.”
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Well, as Ian Scott said, that was a proper walk, none of your namby-bamby 14.9 km apologies.
A straw poll was conducted by your blogger to gauge the participants´reactions following their achievement and we have these comments:
“Yes we ,the famous five or magnificent seven (if you include 2 dogs), "enjoyed" a splendid day.
David's idea of gentle slopes differs from mine but he is to be congratulated a) on the time spent recce-ing b) on his attention to detail on the organisation of the event.
The normal quiet countryside was rudely shattered by many rally cars but Tina was always there to warn us of on-coming ,impending danger.
The noise was a reminder to us of just how we take for granted the normal peace and quiet of our Algarvian walks.
While the walk was arduous, we all were pleased to be transported back to base in Terry's ambulance for well-deserved refreshment.” (John O´Neill)
“É verdade, foi uma grande caminhada! Atravessámos 3 vezes a ribeira, sem botas, mais umas quantas vezes com botas e subimos e descemos muitas encostas.
Ao longo  do percurso, quando utilizámos parte do estradão do "Rally", por vezes, tínhamos de parar, porque andavam a treinar vários carros, com grande velocidade e levantando núvens de pó.
Valeu a pena não ter optado por uma parte do percurso, como inicialmente tinha pensado. A chegada ao Ameixial foi fantástico: Bonita paisagem!
Ainda tem que me explicar porque não foram.
Em princípio até quarta feira.”  (Dina Peres)
 
So, no need for the AV system there; that´s a resounding YES vote for Little Davidwood and he surely deserves a wee bit of music to finish with:

I´m Champion at Keepin´em Rolling