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.