Lynx Farm & Arade.....and BEES....26 March 2025

   Lynx Farm & Arade.....and BEES....26 March 2025

Back in 2023, the AWW must have been a heartier bunch and thought nothing of the 19.6kms : when asvertised this year, there was only one likely walker, so a shortened version of about 11kms was promised..... I was then inundated with 22 walkers, a record for this year. Unfortunately, their faith in my reckoning of the distance was misplaced!

Anyway, in the beginning, we met up at the Silva cafe for caffeine.....and a tosta mista for one couple, before setting off on a bit of tarmac, thence up into the hills...I am sure you know them all, or most anyway....Susan's sister Sylvia joined us (next door to Susan & Karen)...along with Canadians Glen ( in black, back row)  & Christine ( by Kieran) . We welcomed back David, along with Ken , recovering from Antartical bugs...

In the absence of our official photographer  Alan, I took pictures of walkers' backs...

The usual trickle was a bit more after the rains...

....but all got over without mishap....with Bica enjoying the chance to cool down...

our first glimpses of the Arade showed that it was higher than it had been for a long time, after the recent rains...

The group with a view..

No one could spot a lynx at the farm....cycling John did manage to photograph not one,but two,  back in November 2017 though, thus:

Soon it was time for lunch on a promentory overlooking the Funcho barragem , highest I have ever seen it...

I'll soon be getting a reputation like Jim....being economical with the  actualitee...I said the short-cut turn off was near.....but it wasnt!.....we passed some dangerous fish...

David and Peter went ahead to scout for it.....we eventually found it, and all other than Peter wanted  it....even if it meant swapping a flat track for an uphill one!

My name was getting muddier as we ascended hill after hill....my protestations that they were easier than going down  falling on deaf ears...Linda volunteered to go on ahead to get her car for  Ken,  when we came across bees that seemed very unsttled by the attentions of a beekeeper.

Most were unfortunately stung...some multiple times....Ros with her Australian veil was OK, as was Sue...fortunately, some of us had after-sting relief gels to liberally apply, which helped a bit.

Back down in the valley , poor Russell was suffering from stings on the back of his neck , but nurse Karen with some antihistamine helped, though Linda took him off to hospital after dropping Ken at the cafe. ( Russell was treated expeditiously at the hospital and has made a full recovery).

We eventually got back to the Silva cafe for a well earned drink and  I tried to work out how my planned 11kms had  morphed into 15.....shorter than the threatened 19.6, but not what it said on the tin.

Mea culpa!

The blog of March and November  2023 are   as follows...note the different water levels!

AWW 2015-24: 1 March 2023....Fuzeiros, Lynx Farm and Funcho

AWW 2015-24: Fuzeiros, Lynx Farm and Barragems : 15 November 2023

Map and Stats :

Thanks to all who came....and for not lynching me!

Geoff

Nos Passos do Património (In the Footsteps of Heritage)...PR15 SLV

                    Nos Passos do Património (In             the Footsteps of Heritage)

Plan A was that this would be a very quick and dirty blog.....a starter photo of the usual culprits: Lto R : John, Peter, Julie, Karen, Jan, Geoff, Alan, Stephen, Susan,Bruce,Tony, Maggie,Steve, Sue...no dogs, a first?

followed by a walk description cribbed friom the PR15 website: " This circular route leaves from Vale Fuzeiros and reveals a valuable archaeological heritage (menhirs, necropolises), but also the villages and the red earth landscape of the Silves sandstone."

Or in more detail:

"The route starts in front of the "O Gralha" restaurant. It follows Estrada Municipal (EM) 1080 towards Barragem do Funcho for about 300 metres and then turns left onto Rua de Vale Fuzeiros. It keeps going for about 500 metres and then turns up towards the magnificent Monterrosso hill.

Take a brief diversion to the right to visit the Pedreirinha necropolis. Return to the trail, which continues for about 1.5 kilometres until it reaches a tarmac road at the entrance to Amorosa. On the road, the route goes straight ahead along Rua 18 de Janeiro de 1934, then Rua do Trabalho and Rua da República. At the end of this street, it turns right and goes straight on towards Rua da Escola. At the crossroads, it turns left onto Rua Luís de Camões. The route crosses the EM 1079 and goes straight on. Then it turns right, along a citrus grove. It crosses the Barrada da Amorosa road and starts climbing. Before the tarmac road, take a break at the Fonte do Chafariz picnic area.

When the route reaches the National Road (EN) 124, it turns left and then goes right, up the dirt track. At the top, it turns left and, about 350 metres later, turns right. For about 1 kilometre, enjoy the wide views down to the sea. The path curves to the left and then turns right. At the crossroads, it turns right and then right again.

After about 600 metres, it turns right and goes straight on until it reaches the end of the cluster of houses. Then it turns left back to the EN 124; it turns left and then, after about 100 metres, right, in the direction of Monte Novo. At the fork, the route turns right and, once it reaches a cluster of houses, turns left along a narrow path. It goes straight on and, at the crossroads, turns left onto Rua da Fonte and then left onto Rua 5 de Outubro, along a narrow road. At the end of the climb, on the tarmac road, it turns right and then left along the path you've already taken. About 1.5 kilometres later, the route turns left. This next segment has a short steep incline.

From here you'll find the area's important archaeological heritage: menhirs, necropolises and graves. The path continues for about 1.7 kilometres along the top of the hill, where you'll find four menhirs . It goes down and turns right onto the tarmac road and then left along a dirt track. Then it turns right along a narrow track. It crosses a small watercourse and begins to climb. At the end of the climb, it turns right and goes straight around the hill. You'll see a small dam on the left. The route then meets the tarmac road, turns left and follows this road to the EM 1080. It turns left and then right along a narrow path that takes you to the Carrasqueira necropolis. The route takes the same path back to the EM 1080, turns left and follows the main road. After the "Vale Fuzeiros" sign, it turns left and continues to the end of the climb. It then turns right along Rua de Vale Fuzeiros.

At the crossroads, the route joins the GR13.12 - Connection 12 - Via Algarviana (Funcho) to Vale Fuzeiros for around 250 metres. It then turns left, passing the necropolis of Forneca, while Connection 12 continues straight ahead. At the crossroads, it turns right and then, on the EM 1080, turns right again, close to the finish."


Which was broadly correct, other than tarmac was confused with cobbled and "crossroads" sometimes needed a liberal interpration....anyway, we started at the Silva cafe rather than the O Gralha ( closed on wednesaday) , and otherwise followed the plan ( well, all apart from the mutineers, see later) , though some of the turnings could have been better marked...or marked at all even. Anyway, on to plan B.

The weather of late has not been very Algarvian...in fact the forecast was for " torrential rain and thunder in afternoon) , but only 2 decided not to risk it, so 14 set off after our coffee, though Sue didn't seem to enjoy the company of the cafe doggie...

The first necropolis....no one wanted to try  the graves for size...

Then on to the second, which included a double...

Thence up into the hills and on to Amarosa...admiring the wildlife...

what did we say about not straggling?....where are they?

Up to the Fontes for a banana break...

Whilst Tony tried to get the well to work...

whilst others relaxed, enjoying the lack of rain...

Over the N124 through Monte Boi....and a man in a hole...

 and into the orange and avocado orchards..

before taking a pause for lunch....a quick one, in case our luck fell out with the rain gods...

As indeed it did en route back through Amarosa...

Someone didn't want us to go that way...

but that was a mere drizzle...Bruce decided he would have a go at another well...

...before it was pointed out that it had been welded inoperable...so we turned up to the menhirs...

But we must have angered the rain gods with our flippancy, as the heavens decided it was time to soak us...

The 4 menhirs were on a switchback , lots of slippery ups and downs...but we eventually got to the road where 7 MUTINEERS in the lead ignored whistles to come back and hiked off along the tarmac.

Those made of sterner stuff forded the stream with some ease....

....before  getting back to the Silva and attempting to dry off  and shaming the 7  MUTINEERS...

They had better remain anonymous, but 6 of them are here!

My phone decided to play up, but here is the official map :

The official version equates to 3kph....we did it in about 4h40m and Peter reckoned it was 17.1kms which is about 4kph allowing for a brief lunch.

Thanks to all those who braved the weather and still ended up smiling.....and to alan for many of the photos.

Geoff

Alferce Loop walk 26.02.25

Alferce Loop walk  26.02.25 

This walk was adapted from a previous walk that we led last year. However, instead of descending into the valley and attempting 2 river crossings we decided to do a higher loop walk from Alferce towards Picota via the boardwalk and bridge which opened 2 years ago.

19 brave walkers met at the snack bar Petisqueira in Alferce where the walk began, with a coffee!

Following this, we went through the village of Alferce , passing the murals.....

and heading  towards the Passadicos Barranco do Demo ( meaning Devil’s gorge),  where we used the boardwalk and suspension bridge to traverse the canyon.

 Even though we adhered to the recommended maximum of 5 on the bridge it swayed back and forth. Well done to everyone for overcoming this challenge as this can be a bit disconcerting. ( You can say that again! Ed)

The wooden pathway continued around 800m providing us with an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding area. Luckily the weather was fantastic with a bright blue sky and sunshine.....and so to a belated starter photo...

From left Bruce, Tony, Steve, Geoff, Kieran, Steve, Mike, Karen, Nic, Sue , Fiona, Maggie, Julie, Susan, Peter, Jane, Karen, John. In front Linda and her dog Toby.

We then proceeded along the PR 10 on an off-road trail. We omitted the steep climb to Alferce castle. Eventually we crossed the road leading back to Alferce where we encountered our first set of barking dogs and (non barking) chickens. Our only canine companion Toby was well behaved and stayed with his mistress.

 We continued along a narrow pathway until we reached the intersection of 4 paths. We took the path to our left and proceeded on the VA13.

 We carefully passed the farm where dogs had attacked Toby on a previous occasion. Luckily even though we heard barking in the distance there was no reoccurrence of that dreadful attack. The path became narrow and was covered with greenery and beautiful flowers courtesy of the recent rain. 

We then began our ascent towards Monchique and Picota. We passed a house where the owner rescues abandoned dogs. We had spoken to her during our recce and she had agreed to keep the dogs in during our walk.

Lunch was held at the high point of the walk. Everyone relaxed and enjoyed the views especially when informed that the remainder of the walk was mainly downhill. We were pleased with the pace of the walk as we arrived 10 minutes earlier than we had predicted.

After lunch we retraced our steps until we met up with our downward path. We chatted and enjoyed the splendour of the day until the first mishap. I had a déjà vu moment  when I fell because my laces got caught in my boot. Luckily no serious damage was done. Sue used her whistle to alert the group of walkers in front.

Later there was some confusion at one of the many intersecting paths. Having consulted the map we found the correct path. I remembered nearly falling during the recce. John warned the group that it was slippery and down went Geoff. Again, thankfully there was no need for first aid or a mountain rescue just a slightly bruised ego. Eventually we reached the area where we had accessed the VA earlier on the walk. At this point we followed the signpost towards Alferce. ( Susan is too kind.....having slipped once, I then did it again a few minutes later......this is becoming a habit on S & J walks, last time I was up here with them I managed to fall down part of the hillside ! Ed)

We spotted a hybrid tree...

Eventually we reached the village and returned to the café for drinks. Many thanks to Julie for organising the post walk refreshments. Welcome to Karen, Mike and Nic the Canadian contingent. It was lovely to meet Maggie Braddock a previous AWW who had opted to walk with us during her short stay in the Algarve. Bob her patient husband awaited our return in the local café.....the noisiest in the Algarve!

Walk stats:

Distance: 14.5 km

Elevation gain 600m

Walking time 4.5 hours

Map of walk The below map was recorded during our recce

Thanks to everyone for walking. We really enjoyed your company

Susan and John