AWW 18.04.2007- What happened to the Blog??

Thought I had better reserve a space in case John was still thinking about this one! This is where we were while you were enjoying the sunny Algarve. The top of Latterbarrow Hill overlooking Lake Windermere from the south, having just found a geocache a bit further down. The cairn isn't really alarmingly tilted like that, but I couldn't find a flat piece of rock to rest the camera on!

John has now returned from his domestic duties and here is the blog for 18th April in it's rightful place!!

AWW 18.04.2007 Parra/Odelouca or Frew's Famous Five

Leader: Rod Frew
Present: Mike P, Antje W, Janet S, and John H
Dogs: Oscar, Tiggy, and Pookie
Tilley Count: Nil (despite Mike's claim that his straw titfer was an embryo Tilley)

The circumstances extenuating the unwonted delay in publishing this episode include the deputy editor having spent a 4 day weekend in UK and the leader having inadvertently submitted his copy by email to Dubai instead of to Silves, a mistake anyone of course could make and nothing whatsoever to do with the madronho (see later)

Here follows the happily retrieved Leader's report:

The starters; walking with 4 sticks was not a success.

Locationand terrain: Parra/Odelouca. Hilly, but only about 15K.

An extremely select band set off from Silves cemetery.... so select that they all arrived early, and we departed 10 minutes before the appointed hour! The walk was in part a reconnaissance for the Algarve Way Horse Ride that Rod wanted to check out. Drove up the S. Marcos road and started walking at 9.45am from the Parra turning, on a lovely warm, sunny morning. Although by no means a new walk, we had not actually done it for over a year and parts of it not for several years. We descended to the Casa Florestal and then up along a ridge with lovely views over the Odelouca valley and all amidst wonderful spring flowers.

(It was here that Antje for reasons unexplained....carried away by the rarefied mountain air or the heavy perfumes of the flowers, perhaps.....decided to audition for the part of Maria. As we go to press, Lord Lloyd Webber's reaction is not known.)
The hills are alive............

The steep descent to the river had become somewhat overgrown and rough but nobody came to grief. (The river was reached at 10.45am when the leader announced that that was the last steep bit...down! The steep bits UP were still to come.)

The river was actually pretty full and quite definitely "boots off"..no complaints were accepted as adequate warning had been given!. Mike's rather fetching blue nylon slippers were obviously the best solution as he nimbly skipped through the waters; bin liners do look a bit cumbersome in comparison but, as long as they don't puncture, do keep the feet dry. Antje and Janet delicately found their way across with bare feet...rather putting the men's tender feet to shame.


Blue nylons

No, Mike, that does not qualify as a Tilley.

The track away from the river, which we hadn't actually covered since Maurice was last with us, was fairly unrecognizable because of forestry work but ended with the same very steep (and how!) and very crumbly ascent towards the ridge dividing the Odelouca and Monchique river valleys. Puffing our way over the top of the ridge, we found the wonderful view over the Monchique river valley towards Picota has sadly become marred by a line of grotesque high tension pylons; such is progress!

We turned back at that point and, beating off some aggressive horse flies, (the leader's well-intentioned applications of his walking stick to Mike's posterior regions reminding the latter of his prep school days) descended to a ruin just below the ridge where we stopped for lunch. Repast complete, or so we thought, we then carried on down to Foz de Carvlho to be greeted with open arms by the farmer down there who remembered us from previous occasions. Poor chap is still patiently waiting for his compensation for the dam waters which will eventually cover his land. This, of course, resulted in an invitation into his farmhouse, well rather onto the terrace shared by assorted cats, dogs, a headless chicken and one or two live ones, where he opened a garrafão of tinto and obliged us to consume (or maybe surreptitiously tip over the wall!) mugfuls thereof.

One does not have to go on a cruise to sample our wines.


Summer time and the walking is easy.

After admiring photos of him and his late wife we staggered off again. We were quickly sobered up by another river crossing....quite welcome by that time....before the long ascent back up to the road.

Half way up.....back at the Casa Florestal......

Rest and Be Thankful.

Here another interlude was demanded by a social call on one of the forest rangers who happened to be around. He was keen on showing us his honey (although he had none ready for sale) which he produced to augment his rather limited ranger's stipend. (The leader also claims to have been invited to"smell" the ranger's madronho, although the speed with which he then tore up the final climb to the road led the more cynical observers floundering in his wake to conclude that he had done more than simply smell it.) And then back to the cars at 3.40 pm and, remembering to collect all the dogs, down the road to the nearest cafe for refreshment.

AWW 11.04.2007 We finally ran out of Leaders!

Some of the more observant may have noticed the blatant gap in the series of blogs, necessitating this annexed entry to preserve the timeline.

It was to have been Elaine and Stan's romantically named 'A Walk back in Thyme', but unfortunately both principals came down with nasty colds, and at short notice it proved impossible to find someone willing to lead the walk on this occasion. To my memory the first time this has ever happened, and it would have proved a good opportunity for a non-regular leader to download one of my Bamboo diagram walks and give it a field test. Alas I was not here to supervise, and the chance was missed.

I will let the stark reality of the emails sent to the AWW relate the story of the walk that was ahead of its thyme!:-

Dear WWers

I'm very sorry but Stan and I have to cancel our walk tomorrow. I have been suffering from a bad cold for a few days and thought I would be over it by now, but sadly not. Stan this morning sounds like he might be going down with it too.

I contacted Rod this morning to see if he could lead the walk instead but he is not able to walk tomorrow. I can't contact Lindsey at the moment so decided to email you all directly to let you know.

Hope we can offer the walk at a later date

with kind regards

Elaine

Dear All,

Sadly all other Leaders are busy tomorrow, so for the first time I think (apart from rain) we will have to cancel tomorrows walk.

I will send out next week's walk, to be led by Rod, at the weekend. Andrew and I are away on holiday from 18th April until 3rd May and Elaine will kindly send out the weekly e-mails.

Best wishes,

Lindsey Henley-Welch