AWW 09.06.2007 - Summer Feast, Benagil

Working up an appetite - or a thirst!

I must admit, it was with some trepidation that we returned from our Eastern Odyssey to discover that the Big Benagil Bacchanalian Bash had been organised by our Back to Basics - Beer and Butties rep, Ian S., but these fears later proved unfounded. Indeed the pre-lunch walk along the coast from Benagil was an extremely pleasant appetiser, although only 11 of the 30 odd diners deemed it necessary to pre-burn the calories they would inevitably collect later!

The Walk: Leader: Ian S.
Followers: Marguerite; Diane & Ian W.; John & Hazel, Mick and Sylvia; Myriam and Paul; Janet.
Guest appearance (non-volunteer) Maio; Shorty.
Distance: 5 km: Time 1 hr 15 mins. Tilley Hats: 4/11

Hazel takes it to the edge

On the way out along this beautiful and popular section of the coast we saw these two 'schooners' which were carrying tourists and enhancing the scenery. Also a film crew were filming a couple of models on one of the beaches, but alas our route did not include a descent from the cliffs to ogle! On the negative side, on our return ramble, a rather ugly large catamaran appeared to be hosting a 'rave' of young people and was polluting the atmosphere by playing inordinately loud bass and drums music from a set of speakers and amps that would have been adequate for Wembley Stadium. We dissed their street cred by resolutely refusing to take a picture as they made their noisy progress!





Myriam stalks Jonathan Livingstone

The seagull in this picture obviously didn't realise he was being approached by an omnivore that had been devouring the flora, fauna and exotic fowls of South east Asia recently.

We returned to Cafe Lamy before 1230, enabling Ian to promptly run a taste test on the draught Sagres which appeared to be to his satisfaction. The crowd began gathering in earnest, and we eventually took our seats and had some hot well cooked but basic Chicken piri-piri or sea bass (robalo). The wine supplied (not from the Wine Mine on this occasion) was adequate, but not so good that it encouraged excessive gargling and lewd behaviour.
Our congratulations to Ian on his organisation and for a splendid end of season event.





The eastern side of the table




The western side of the table



The South Western Annexe!



Pre-lunch circulation - note the untouched water bottles!

Lindsey had laboriously compiled a set of walking statistics for the season, which apparently officially ends today, and announced that she would like a successor as Secretary/dogsbody, a post that Janet has eagerly assumed. Thanks to Lindsey for a wonderful job. A discussion arose as to whether some of the remaining funds should be given away to charity, but a subsequent email from Lindsey reveals there may be some more mileage in discussing this at sub-committee level.

Here are the season's attendance stats:

For the record - We had a total of 36 walks organized but 3 were cancelled.

John Hope walked 29 walks, Lindsey 23; David L. & Ian Scott 21; Janet & Paul 19;

Antje, Rod, Mike & Ian Wilson 16; Chris & Andrew 14; Elaine & Myriam 13; Hazel 10.

Leaders -

David L. led 8 walks

Rod led 6 walks

Ian Scott & Mike 5 walks

Paul 4 walks

Ian Wilson & Chris 2 walks

Hedley & Stan 1 walk

My personal thanks to John H for ably stepping into the breach to keep the blog even more accurate and incisive than before, and for his role as Chief Paparazzi.

John H. with his 'big one'!

I will finish this season's blog with a few, I hope relevant and inspirational quotes:

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. ~Soren Kierkegaard

Walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed. ~Edward Abbey, "Walking"

The true charm of pedestrianism does not lie in the walking, or in the scenery, but in the talking. The walking is good to time the movement of the tongue by, and to keep the blood and the brain stirred up and active; the scenery and the woodsy smells are good to bear in upon a man an unconscious and unobtrusive charm and solace to eye and soul and sense; but the supreme pleasure comes from the talk. ~Mark Twain

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body. I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


See you all at SparrowsFart!!
Paulo à Pé

AWW 06.06.2007 Cansado Carousel

The starters at Café Cansado. The start was much delayed, Mike being in such a munificent mood that he authorised a coffee detail. This photo was taken before a rather assertive gentleman turned up in an off-white van and pointed out that our first come - first served and devil-take-the-hindmost Parking Policy had resulted in his passage being blocked. As The Hindmost, I was only too happy to have certain cars which were taking up too much space rearranged.( NB The Red One!). However in the excitement of taking this pic, and running around to avoid the cars being reparked, Myriam managed to drop her camera battery, recently purchased by me in Hong Kong for $99, and so took no further part in the photography with her camera, until we returned and did a fingertip search, resulting in the battery being located beneath Lindsey's reparked car. (This version may appear below from a slightly different viewpoint - which just goes to show that history is written by the winners and Chief Bloggers!
John H appeared unduly eager to abdicate from his responsibilities as Blogger in Locum, and as I am having to relearn the whole process, not having blogged for over two months, this blog may fall a little short of the professional standards achieved hitherto. However you will have a nice expandable map of the route taken if I can get it to upload!





Track of the route starting at Café Cansado in the bottom RH corner in Arao.

Without more ado let us hear from the leader in his own inimitable style!

Walk Report – ‘Bravura Ridgetops’ - 6th June, 2008

With temperatures rising a shorter walk was selected. This also took into consideration the fitness levels of those who had recently returned from an over indulgence in the fleshpots of the PRC.

Walk statistics: Moving time: 3 hours 9 mins; Total time: 3 hours 28 mins; Moving ave: 4.4 kph; Overall ave: 4.0 kph; Total ascent: 354 m; Max elev: 155 m. (noted for the benefit of AWW statistical junkies).

Walkers: Lindsey, Myriam, Paul, Rod, John and Hazel, John O’Neill, Brian and Mike

Dogs: Oscar and Pooky

Shillelaghs: 1

Start/End point: Café/bar Cansado, Arão

Ostensible leader: Mike; de facto leader: Lindsey who directed the walk, using a bamboo diagram chart, with great charm and ruthless efficiency.

Possibly an all time record was set of 15 minutes between official and actual start time. This was due to a number of factors. Firstly, a nameless couple phoned in distress some 6 km northwards, asking for start point directions. In future directions should appear in both Cantonese and Mandarin. Morale rose considerably when a most shapely young lady parked her car with the rest and hopes rose amongst the male walkers that she was a guest walker. Sadly she deposited her trash in the nearby trash bins and drove off. Morale plummeted. At this point Myriam lost a vital battery for her camera, not to be retrieved until our return.

No it was a pirate battery - not a vampire battery!!

The publican's dog then decided this was an opportune moment to demonstrate his disdain for the whole proceedings by cocking his leg on the OL's back pack. Finally, we were advised most politely by a resident to park our cars better to improve access for local goods carriers. All this confusion proved too much for a breakaway group who now disappeared into the nearby tavern, eventually reappearing with satisfied expressions. The walk finally got under way at 08.45 hours.

Luckily Paul was back to assist the d.f. Leader to interpret some of Mike's more imaginative Bamboo Diagrams!

After a short climb the walk encompasses splendid views northwards to the Serra de Monchique and eastwards towards and beyond Alcalar. The pleasant ridge top walking is sadly defaced with the placement of a line of pylons for the power lines that will shortly pass this way. Later, the walk passes to the east of the hamlet of Bravura and the pump house that controls water outflows from the Barragem. After passing a well-stocked series of pigeon lofts magnificent views are gained back to the Barragem and westwards to Cotifo and the hills beyond. Eventually, Monte Ruivo trig point (133 m) is gained where we had the obligatory group photograph. The return journey leads down faint tracks, an abandoned cottage (site of Antje’s contretemps with a bee) and finally the road to Fata Vacas.

Lindsey, AWW secateurs in hand 'scrumping' some dead thistles. There is apparently a difference between this and the scrumping of previous weeks!!

The AWW secateurs were used for the first time – but not to clear the path but to cut some attractive dried plants for Lindsey’s house decoration. Overall a pleasant, not too arduous walk made enjoyable by the cooling breeze that blew throughout.

T.O.T.P.P - cunningly composed by Myriam (with Paul's camera AND battery) to exclude the large modern hill-top house to the immediate left.





Back at Café Cansado, we were discussing the possibilty of a walk next week, when we discovered that in true Algarve fashion, the wall calendar was for 2006!! Actually that is quite up to date for Arão!

The next event is the 'End of season' lunch, at Benagil on 9th June - organised by a sub-committee of One, although he claims to have official sanction from Lindsey, as she pushed out the email! Watch this space for a fairly balanced report and photos i.d.c. Remember: Life is too short to drink House Wine (to quote more than one of the group's Cognoscenti!) I.S. you have been advised!!!

AWW 30.05.2007 One Dam Walk After Another, or Two For The Price Of One

Leader: Rod

Pack: Lindsey, Mike, Yves Ferrer, John and Hazel

Dogs: Oscar and Pookie

Statistics: such as they are, of little relevance

Walk, part 1 : 9.00 am - 11.45 am

Walk, part 2: 12.00 noon - 12.45 pm

Distance, part 1: 8.30 km

Distance, part 2: 1.20 km

This walk revealed a totally unexpected, softer side to Rod, that long-striding, long-distance walker, as he guided "we few,we happy few, we band of brothers" gently on a stroll which, to him, would be scarcely more than a nip down to the corner shop for the morning papers and breakfast rolls and back again, hardly 10 clicks in all, only a little scrambling and virtually no hills to speak of. (Quotations from Henry V at the special request of Mike Pease.) Over now to the Leader's report.

".......like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot."

"Odelouca Dam Check.

This small but select band met at the Ourique Cafe and drove up the Alferce road and the newly refurbished highway to the dam site. Work seems to be well under way again in that there was much traffic and noise, as well as a charming young lady who politely suggested where we should not park in the way of expected construction vehicles.

We set off skirting high up round to the north of the dam with a good view of the site. The temporary earth dam is allowing water to gradually build up and the foundation cuttings for the main dam are clearly visible. There has been a lot of earth moving since our last visit and the area immediately above the dam is barely recognizable. Further up the valley, life returns to normal but we had better make the most of it because tree and scrub clearance and then advancing waters will soon destroy this lovely area for ever.

On arrival at the river crossing a certain diffidence about wet feet became apparent (of course this was because the Leader had not decided where he was going 'til he got there and nobody had been warned to bring their various choices of impermeable footwear) so despite the clemency of the weather a suggestion we should take a different route was accepted with alacrity, even although it deprived Mike a chance of once more demonstrating the efficacy of his Serbian waterproof slippers.

So we doubled back into the hills to the north of the dam. This proved an interesting diversion. There were some formidable brambles to pass (and the sub-committee is seriously considering appropriate sanctions against the absentee secateur bearer -what use are secateurs on Carapateira beach, one wonders, to the pioneers out in the bush?), whilst snakes were espied in the grass and arbutus bushes were studied. And then we came across an EDP team busy installing cables on yet another hideous chain of pylons systematically despoiling the countryside. Literally kilometers of rope were being laid across the hills and valleys before being hoisted up as the initial means of eventually hauling up the definitive cables.

Great snakes alive!

Yves' encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject and a long chat with one of the EDP engineers made us much wiser about this tricky operation, even if one is not too impressed with the change in the landscape.

A lesson in splicing

Even despite this sidetracking, this particular circuit lasted less than three hours so, in order not to feel short-changed, we drove back down and wandered up the Fonte Santa valley for a while. This gentle stroll proved the most challenging of the day for, firstly, a herd of rather intimidating cows and their very large bull had to be contended with.

"As I wis walkin' doon the road,
I met a coo.
A bull b'God!"
( W.T.McGonagall.)

Mutual suspicion.

Then obstinacy at a ford once again prevailed and we were obliged to try to negotiate the precipice ledge route up the valley (some old hands might recall the occasion when one of our erstwhile staunch WW members froze solid with vertigo at this very point and we had to carry him down!). Well this might have been on the point of happening again when John wisely announced he was going to retrace his steps ....we all thought this was a pretty good idea (wasn't there a rock slide in our way?) and, back on more solid ground, settled for a quiet picnic beside the babbling brook instead, followed by an early return to the Cafe Ourique for the usual!"

No more quotes from Shakespeare nor from William Topaz McGonagall, the best bad poet in the world. One reads that Confucius is making a comeback in China, so we can expect a welcome blast of commonsense in next week's blog from Paulo a Pe who has been imbibing (wisdom from the Analects, we mean) in China and will now be making a comeback of his own.