AWW 14.03.2007 The Graveyard Shift or Lost in Loule

GPS says " Time to start!"

David promised "In spite of being relatively short, this is quite tough because of the amount of climb and descent." and when at the prescribed time he was sitting at Café D. Rosa in Querença main square with just Ian W. and John, he must have thought that it was a mistake to do so! However by 0945 hrs. and after a couple of desperate phone calls from the lost souls in Loulé, reinforcements had arrived, and the six 'Proud Walkers' prepared to leave after the customary coffee infusion!
It is worthy to note two facts about this walk:- 1. There were no dogs participating for the first time since an awful long time, and 2. The number of Tilley Hat wearers on this occasion reached an All-Time high of 50% - Ian W., John and of course Paul being the discerning half of the squad!





Querenca Walk Track (click to enlarge)

Leader: David
Present: Paul; John; Ian W. Hedley; Lindsey
No dogs!!



Stats:
Total Distance: 18.0 km
Moving Time: 4 hrs 14 min.
Total Time: 5 hrs 15 min
Moving average: 4.3 km/hr
Overall Average: 3.4 km/hr
Total Ascent: 820 m
Max Elevation: 445 m

Here is David's report:

Following a spate of cancellations and apologies, it was a small and very select band that gathered at Querenca for the start of the walk. John had arrived before breakfast to make sure not to miss us, having only made up his mind to walk at 6.a.m., a decision he seemed to regret at a later stage. Paul rang from Loulé having underestimated the time required for the journey from Lagos. Lindsey was lost in Loulé and phoned for directions. All of which was pretty lucky for Hedley, who arrived unannounced at about 9.45, also complaining about signage in Loulé, just as the rest of the party was coming together.
Not a very auspicious start, but nevertheless a start was made at just after 9.50. Things got just slightly worse, although the bulk of the group were not aware. The Leader turned off the road too soon down the hill from Querenca, which meant that the initial walk on tarmac was considerably extended. Hedley got nearest the truth, but the Leader was not going to admit to a mistake at that point.
A pleasant walk along the track to the Fonte de Benémola improved the underfoot, and the Fonte itself was admired, bringing water from heaven knows where underground to keep the river flowing. Above the Fonte it was already almost dry. The rocky ascent of the steep side of the gorge was accomplished without incident, but no-one felt like exploring the caves near the top.




Five above the Fonte

Arriving at Corcitos, the leader made another small error, but corrected himself within 100 metres, much to everyone’s delight. The rest of the lowland section of the walk was accomplished in good time. A young lady originating from Pendle in Lancashire was encountered briefly with her minute dog complete with mini bandana by the working fonte wheel near Tejeira. Then began the ascent of the range of hills which run to the north-east of the Querenca valley. It includes two trig-points and a lot of steep climbs, but the walking rate was very well-maintained. Lunch was taken at the first trig, Esguicho de Agua, after which Hedley declared himself satisfied with the day’s exertions, and left to find his own way back to Querenca on a lowland route.





After lunch at Esguicho de Agua

The Famous Five ploughed on to the second trig point, the location of which had been visible for what seemed like hours because of the mobile phone mast alongside it. The views from this point were truly remarkable, making the arduous climb (more or less) worthwhile.


The second TOTPP: Ian is feeling the cold and has a fleece inside his waterproof, while our northern 'ard man displays his one pack! (note the temperature was at least 20ºC and we had just had a hard climb. The words "namby pamby" were discussed at length!)

The descent from this high point was at times hazardous due to the steepness of the slope and the loose nature of the stones, but all reached the valley safely, though some knees were beginning to complain. The group then went off-piste for a short way to cut out a detour on the way to the final hill. Herewith lay the second cock-up of the day, when the Leader was unable to locate the perfectly good transverse path towards the Cemetery, and the group instead took on the hill at its steepest, through lightish scrub. This led to an arrival on the hilltop in someone’s garden rather than at the cemetery gates, but fortunately there were no dogs or electric fences.



Back at Cafe D. Rosa - with a good thirst!

All that remained was the short processional way from the cemetery back to Querenca and the bar. Hedley was sitting with what he claimed was his third beer, but few believed him. No stout for the Leader, but Bohemia was a good substitute. A good half-hour rattle about the previous week’s rugby internationals concluded proceedings. Once again the Leader had made an uncannily accurate estimate of distance, given that this time he really had plucked the figure out of thin air, but his timing was a little astray. Can’t win ‘em all.
This is undoubtedly a challenging walk, but a satisfying one, and one of many to be had in this relatively unspoiled part of the region.

Comment by CB: This proved to be a wonderful classic Eastern Algarve walk. The views from the extremely 'undulating' ridge that eventually led to the Trig Point with the mast some 3 km from Querença on the return journey, were superb, and (almost all agreed) worth the exertion. In some ways it was good that the group was small and compact, as it made for a faster overall pace, and less potential for accidents, as some of the downhill slopes were extremely steep and scree-ridden. This was an occasion when the newly-purchased AWW rope would have been of value - but of course it was packed in Ian S.'s rucksack beneath the debris of last week's packed lunch, and Ian had preferred to spend the day allegedly dealing with personal affairs, rather than participating in a new and 'highly' enjoyable ramble.
Now if only David could sort out the end, and avoid the 'v.diff' ascent to the graveyard!!!