AWW 4.05.2011: Mira, Mira Ouriquequus

Janet will regret not having been on this walk, not just because of the great weather and scenery, but also because of missing the unveiling of some fantastic new hi-tech walking gear; more later.
Leader: Rod
Present: Chris, John O'N, Paul and Myriam, Lindsey, Tina and Andrew, Ingrid, Dina, John H., Alex, Jim Brownlow.
Dogs: Tiggy and Misty
and not forgetting the
Ladies Who Lunch: Jyll and Antje plus Sascha.

The starters ( including the demure Three Little Girls from school )

The Track (click to enlarge)
Stats as recorded by Paul
Total Distance: 14.16 km
Total Time: 4hrs 52 min
Moving Time: 3 hrs 42 min
Overall Avg.: 2.9 km/hr
Moving Avg.: 3.8 km/hr
Total Ascent: 309 m.
Max Elevation: 219 m.
(Those two or three who tried to find a way across the river probably walked a total of  14.52 km, but that would have been too much to expect of the newly imported hi-tech walking gear, wouldn´t it?)
The Leader´s Report
“MIRA, MIRA.....not on iron age walls but certainly the fairest of them all!
“After all the recent rain we were granted a beautiful sunny day. The walk was somewhat shorter than advertised...but with extended stopping times to take in the scenery we arrived back exactly at the appointed hour.
“Everyone arrived up at Pru and Julian Clayton Mead's splendid establishment near Ourique and we set off bang on time. Within minutes John O'N's threatening back problems got the better of him and he was sadly forced to retire.

Off for an early bath
“We passed through the little village of Fernão Vaz and headed off down a track towards the R. Mira. This took us past the first of the archaeological sites ...an iron age necropolis. Not a very archaeologically intellectual lot are the WW's seemingly, for this hardly caused a pause in the chatter ! The second site, a more comprehensive settlement, down nearer the river elicited a bit more interest and we stopped there a while.
 

At the settlement

Down to the river
It was easy to see why those iron age folk chose such a magnificent site high above a sweeping bend in the river. Less interested were the two faithful hounds who were at this point totally distracted by rabbit life...indeed they each actually caught one.

Tiggie´s catch – by general consent, a leveret of the Portuguese Mountain Hare genus

(By some extraordinary coincidence, I find that in the Louvre annexe there is a French still life painting (artist unattributed) of the same subject, sponsored by the Fédération Française de  Rugby, titled Le Mort de Lièvremont, or The Death of the Mountain Hare)
“From here we wandered along the river bank for some distance.....wandering being the operative word; it was all so peaceful and beautiful, with spring flowers still out and nightingales singing ( but not in the least reminiscent of Berkeley Square!), that there didn't seem any point in hurrying. The intention was to cross the river somewhat lower down where the leader and Jim B had a couple of weeks earlier on a recce for the St Andrews/St Patrick walk. Since then however the heavy rains had raised the water level considerably and despite prolonged efforts to find a crossing nobody seemed willing to get anything above ankles wet and the idea was abandoned.

Those who stuck to dry land
This required a climb back out of the valley, past yet another necropolis which yielded barely more interest than the first. From there we reached the high point of the walk with sweeping views along the river towards the distant silhouettes of Foia and Picota.

Professor Ingrid lectures on neolithic bits and pieces

Our two scouts try to locate Castro de Cola
We then wound our way back down to the river, through a gully causing a minor distraction from the scenery and along a wide ledge above the river. Eventually this opened out into wider farmland mostly planted with olives. A narrow but quite deep ravine unexpectedly cut across the path and threatened to become a major obstacle, however two poles had been placed across it, presumably by the local farmer, and those whose long jump prowess was up to it somehow or other got across.

Shortly after this we reached a ford where a major track crossed the river. The water was too deep to tempt anyone across...particularly since there was no particular reason to!, but the girls were clearly determined to show off their fine sense of balance and teetered along the first half dozen stepping stones.

Ingrid clutches a banana firmly in her right hand….as an emergency flotation device, no doubt.

The men just stood and watched, and waited 

The Stepping Stone Sextet

The Stepping Stone Sextet

The WWW Rat Pack at Dam Lake
(picture and caption copyright Henley-Welch)
“Then on to a really lovely spot on the river just at the point it was flowing into the dam lake, where we stopped for another while to absorb the scenery. Then on up a path through quercus trees up towards  N.Senhora de Castro Church and the Castro de Cola ruins. Of course we had to stop at the ancient ruins to once again take in their atmosphere and beauty.

Two ancient ruins by the church
“The rest of the walk away from the river and back towards Equus Ourique was a bit of an anti-climax after the splendours of the river banks, but by the the thought of a few beers and lunch became equally attractive. Antje and Jyll Pease (plus Sascha) had arrived by then and we all settled down to yet another splendid lunch prepared by Pru.”
“Post Scriptum
RIP

POOKIE
Founder WW Hound and the last canine survivor of the first 1998 Algarve Way crossing.
Peacefully put to sleep.”

Lunch collage by Paul and Myriam



Bun fight at low noon

Sascha, a potential WW recruit
Now, let´s go back to that bit about the fantastic new hi-tec walking gear. It is, of course, that time of year when, after his annual tour round the UK sales, the RCB displays his latest acquisitions. This year, disappointed no doubt by his failure to appear on Mastermind (John Humphries apparently considered his specialist topic far too esoteric for the UK viewer) and also thoroughly disgruntled by the lack of reply by a certain Mr.Tilley in Canada to any of his fan mails, he for once rejected the idea of new head gear and instead consoled himself with a pair of new boots. And what boots they are!!!!!!
 

They are the legendary Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX, no less!

While most of us can but stand and stare, here are the Technical Details (for Janet and the rest of the technically inclined) – “The Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX is made from ballistic nylon built around a lightweight chassis with a Gore-Tex membrane. The 4D part of its name comes from the 4D Chassis which borrows technology from Salomon trail running shoes to combine the outersole with extra cushioning cushioning, a midsole support plate and shock absorbing foam insole.There are countless other technical features (which Paul will surely expatiate on and enthral us with on future occasions), but ultimately these Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX boots provide an incredibly comfortable walk with plenty of support while being light and breathable while keeping out the wind, rain and worse. Everything he could ever want, good looks and more.”
All the more remarkable, isn´t it, that RCB declined to test them in the Mira. Talk about keeping one´s powder dry.
As Fats Waller sang
“Your pedal extremities really are obnoxious. Where´d  you get ´em?  One never knows, do one?”
See and hear him with “Your Feet´s Too Big “ at
http://.youtube/in1eK3x1PBI