Bananas (Musa paradisiaca) were knocked off the No.1 spot this week by other fruit, namely the lemon (Citrus limonum) and the pomelo (Citrus maxima (Burm) Merrril).. Terry A started it all by announcing that he was on a forced diet of lemons. Apparently, Jill had gone out to buy 6 lemons but came back with 6 shopping bags. I said “How come? Lemon and Shopping Bag in Portuguese are totally different.” “No, you clown, 6 shopping bags full of lemons.” Lemon meringue pie and lemon curd sarnies then for Terry. Then, at the end of the walk, Frank distributed lemons and pomelos from his orchard. Many thanks, Frank. But I´m sure bananas will bounce back when Ingrid reappears.
Joint leader, Chris, was far from being the relaxed, laid-back supremo seen at Carrapateira five weeks ago: this week at Aldeia da Pedralva, there he was, chivvying us to get ready for the off, get your coffeee quick, line up for photo, no waiting for late arrivals or any such nonsense. Time and tide…you know.
The Starters
Walkers: Chris and Antje (Leaders), John and Hazel, John 'O, Ian W, Terry A, David L, Frank, Alex and holiday visitor Neil Carruthers ( a devoted follower of Maurice Clyde's Algarve walking guide)
Dogs: Tiggy, Maddie, Rosie, Shelley and Rusty makes five.
The Track
A Statistic or Two:
Distance: 16.97 km.
Total time: 4 hr. 25 min.
The Leaders´Report:
“True to form, weather conditions affected this new West Coast walk which by starting from Pedralva gave us the chance to follow a slightly different and less spoiled route to the coast. Strong winds from the East greeted us on arrival and we were glad that the resort had kindly agreed to open their snack bar a little earlier than usual for our benefit. The walk started more or less on time at 9.30am and a cracking pace was set in order to beat the unfavourable tide at Muração beach.
Some local residents watched us leave
“Propelled by a strong tail wind we were carried towards Windmill Alley in no time at all. The first bee attack had delayed us slightly, the victim being Alex who may yet invest in the protection offered by a Tilley hat as a result. At this point it was noted that the track followed part of Mike Pease's Don Quixote windmill walk. The furious whirling of the wind turbines gave us a further incentive to keep up the pace, not least when we spotted one recently failed blade that had clearly sheered its connecting bolts.
Nearing Windmill Alley
“After we had crossed the main road, an early detour to Sagres was thankfully avoided by reference to the Almargem map, the leaders expertise with a GPS being questionable to say the least. Due to the gale force winds blowing off the land a decision was taken to avoid the narrow cliff edge path and ´to descend directly to the beach where we arrived in plenty of time to avoid having to wade through the surf in order to reach the gully.
On the road down, Neil observed some local fauna
and flora-wise David noticed an albino mutation of a blue gentian
The road down
Beating the tide at Muração
“ (Some strong hands helped the more decrepit of us up the gully..thanks, guys.) Then, after a stiff climb up the cliff, the Engineer's house was reached where lunch was taken in the lee of the building, whilst the wind howled around all corners.
Most of us sheltered……
……while Captain Whittle braved the upper deck.
“Starting the trek back into the teeth of a gale slowed progress a little but this had the advantage of the wind disrupting the honey bees flight paths which meant that we hardly noticed the hives. Apart that is from JohnO who´, whilst in deep discussion with Alex, sustained a sting on a part of his anatomy which he declined to disclose. His willingness to protect a damsel from further distress is to be applauded.
Was this when JohnO realised his stick was missing?
“His lack of concern when he realised that he had left his faithful blackthorn stick at the lunch spot evoked more sympathy than the aforementioned bee sting, the more so when it became apparent that he was not prepared to battle the same hazards again to retrieve it. One hopes that it will lie there undisturbed until the next RTC walk. (But see below)
On the road home
Back in Pedralva
“A minor catastrophe was narrowly avoided when we arrived back at the start to find that the entire resort staff had clearly closed up for lunch but, when they had been roused by some spirited hammering on the door, we were all able to enjoy drinks on the sunny protected patio. The impact of tourist prices meant that the kitty barely covered the bill, but that was a small price to pay for the dedicated service and amenities available.”
These are two of Frank´s pomelos. The fruit is also known in English as the shaddock, and in Chinese as the yóuzi; now you know.
What is it about that particular stretch of the West Coast and JohnO´s walking stick? You will remember that on the first day of the RTC 2010 he had to go back for it at one stage. (You can revisit that epic at http://hopejh.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/rtc-2010-24th-and-25th-november/ ). In fact, Hazel had reminded him about that incident during this Wednesday before we went down to the beach, and then it happens again! But once more, the luck of the Irish was with him and all was well that ended well, as his own words tell us:
“Good Morning John. You may be interested in the following:-
BLOG FODDER or TALE OF THE LOST SHILELAIGH
Refreshed and stimulated by a post-walk beer, I advanced on the Engineer's house
to retrieve the lost shilelaigh.
Climbing Everestian heights through virgin undergrowth and after many hours (it seemed),
I came upon the mighty shilelaigh---- there she was perched on the Engineer's window sill
holding court with many Portuguese leprechauns.
After some persuasion and apologies we were eventually re-united.
All the best
John O' ”
(Video will not download, but if you fancy a touch of Irish shilelaigh song, or at least a Bing Crosby version, click on:
http://youtu.be/KNGudsHD_s4)
Apologies to Rusty ( and his owner)for not including him in the "doggy count". Antje
ReplyDeleteRusty reinstated. (Ed.)
ReplyDelete