AWW 04.04.2007 Montinho Marathon or Thyl Redivivus

Leader: Ian W

Present: Rod, Hedley George and Ann, David L, Lindsey, Janet, Andrew and Tina, Thyl, Ian S, Hilke, John H.
No dogs.

Stats:
Tilley Hat count: 1
FDS: nil
Walk Rating: Excellent (on the Summerfield Scale)

The Leader's commentary follows, and after that we are lucky to have two comments, one each from our two Roving Ambassadors, Paul and Chris:

Whipping-In




14 stalwarts gathered at the Foz de Banho for what we all expected to be a really tough walk. We were honoured to have Thyl present again after a long absence. Despite the Leader's anxious attempts to whip the pack in on the dot of 9.30, before the walk got underway Thyl was touchingly presented with the antique walking stick which he had mislaid on an Odelouca walk well over a year ago and which, despite his going back on repeated searches, was never to be found UNTIL, on 24.01.07 during another of his Odelouca walks, Ian Scott's eagle eye spotted it beside the path and it was retrieved. At last, on 04.04.07, the stick could be ceremonially reunited with its grateful owner.

Re-united at last

In return thanks, Thyl invested Ian with a drapery variously described as a Yasser Arafat shawl/pink scarf/ Cambodian bathing garment intended to replace the 100 year-old blue scarf he is accustomed to wear. Nobody however is holding their breath that the blue object will not reappear.

(Hedley, displaying an unexpected knowledge of things Khmer, pointed out that the article in question is properly called a krama.)

The Leader finally got the walk under way at about 9.45 and lost no time in racing up towards Picota in the sunshine. The first surprise was a new building right in the middle of the path. The site was successfully negotiated while the purpose of the building was discussed: an EDP substation was the most popular choice ahead of a woodland sauna bath. Then, on and up, with magnificent views to the coast and with cuckoos calling in the background.

The next surprise about halfway up the mountain was a logging track running along a contour and cutting right across our path. We refound the path but soon found cut trees blocking it and, despite several helpful offers of a leg over or two, we had to return to the logging road. This we followed upwards until we regained the original track to the top.
The view from the summit of Picota (out over the long winding trail still ahead of us) was outstanding.

Only 4 hours to go.

However, the wind was icy, and we lingered only to have the obligatory trig point photo, except for Thyl who lay down in sheltered comfort to have his lunch.




Thyl disdains the oblig trig shot


On the way back down, the variety of spring flowers was much admired with the AWW's Horticuluralist-In-Residence being frequently consulted. (Comment from Lindsey:"A bit more education for the over 60s! Several people asked me for the name of the tall flowering bulb with white and reddish brown flowers. It's Asphodelus Microcarpus or Aspodel. I knew it was Aspho-something but couldn't remember it all.")

Here the Leader lost his way slightly, but Rod came to the rescue with the memory of an old track which brought us down to the Fornalha road at about noon. At this point, we parted company with Hedley, his guests George and Ann, and Hilke, who, all with other demands on their time, took the shortcut back to the Foz, and the rest of us had lunch.
Again, Thyl's stick was the centre of attention. How, he asked, is the head fixed to the shaft as if by magic. No screws or nails. Various ingenious theories were propounded, but a carpenter to provide the definitive answer was there none.


The stick itself


Lunch over, our way continued relatively uneventfully down the Monchique valley. We were passed by a minibus of schoolkids returning, we guessed, from a picnic; a guess that proved correct when we soon came across their campfire, a log still well alight although in the middle of the path. Lindsey then voiced the pertinent Archimedian thought "At 5cc's per sec, how many men does it take to put out a bonfire of 5000 BTUs?" but, alas, out of 7 male bladders present, 6 were stated to be empty and so the group moved on. However Thyl (truly this was turning out to be his day!) stayed discreetly astern of the caravan for a while. And then, in the non-attributable words of the sole but nameless eye-witness, the logfire was extinguished by a balding Belgian executive by an entirely natural and efficacious methodology whilst leaping like a Comanche brave round the waning flames amidst a cloud of white steam. (Sensitively, and in deference to the innate modesty of the AWW and the wish for anonymity on the part of the protagonists, Il Paparazzo forbore to take any pics of this episode.)
The route then wound over a number of "small" hills which, each in turn, elicited the enquiry "Is this the promised steep one?" Ultimately, there was no doubt at all which the truly steep one was as we hauled ourseves up to the ridge after crossing the Monchique road and the Boina River by bridge, Ian S. declining to dive in and put his new Cambodian swimming gear to the test.
As we walked along the ridge, we got a good view of Picota, seeing clearly how far we had walked. Descending to the Caldas de Monchique valley, we caught the fragrant scent of the heavily polluted ribeira de banho as we walked alongside it and pondered its origins - the pollution's that is, not the river's!
The remaining 10 finally reached the Foz at 3.30 and decided after the first beer that the walk was neither as tough nor quite the 25km as advertised but that, nonetheless, a good time had been had by all.


Back at the Foz