AWW Walk April 29th 2026 - 

Paderne: To Be Wet or Not To Be Wet: That is the Question

The Tale of the Paderne Pilgrims

A Comedy in Three Acts

Dramatis Personae:

• The Noble Leader: Martin

• The Hardy Seekers: Jim, Maura, Marian, Gillian, Steve, Karen, John, Linda, and Tom

• The Four-Legged Esquires: Rafa and Toby, hounds of great renown

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Act I: The Ascent from Purgatorio

Hark! On this Wednesday, the twenty-ninth of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand and six and twenty, a robust company of Algarve Walkers gathered in the fair lands of Paderne. The sun did shine with a gentle mercy, for it was late Spring, and the air was sweet with the scent of the countryside.

Jim, Maura, Marian, Gill, Steve, Karen, John, Linda and Tim with Rafa and Toby in front.

After a brief draught of the black bean—which men call coffee—the company set their faces toward the west, bound for the hamlet known as Purgatorio. They didst cross a river of some familiarity and paused upon a bridge to capture their likenesses for posterity. Their first quest: to conquer the Cerro do Sao Vicente. But soft! A great iron path (the A2 highway) lay in their wake, requiring them to descend into a dark and gloomy tunnel, like heroes of old entering the underworld.

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Act II: The Fertile Valley and the Hound’s Tribute

Having ascended the mountain and breathed deep of the heavens, they wound their way down once more, passing through yet another cavernous tunnel beneath the highway. They entered a valley of great fertility, where the earth was rich and the river flowed.

Alas! The hound Rafa, perhaps overcome by the beauty of the tilth, decided to "decorate" the path with many a stop of... natural business. Upon an ancient bridge, the weary travelers didst break bread, perching upon a low wall as the sun’s heat began to stir.

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Act III: The Trial of the Stream

Then came the great tribulation: The Crossing of the Waters. Three factions did emerge from the company, each with a different philosophy of the foot:

• The Drowned Devout: These souls didst walk straight through the current, welcoming the wetness as a penance for their sins.

• The Barefoot Warriors: A braver lot, who didst strip their heels and hold their hosen high, treading the stones with naked soles.

• The Sorcerers of Rubber: A select few, wise in the ways of gear, who donned special waterproof boots and crossed with dry feet, mocking the river’s power.

  

  
  

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The Grand Finale

Once the company was "rebooted," they climbed the hills to the north-east, beholding views so spectacular they might have moved a stone to tears. Descending at last back into Paderne, they found sanctuary at the Moiras Encantadas—the Enchanted Mooring. There, upon a shaded terrace, they toasted their victory with cold nectars.

Our deepest thanks to Steve and Gil for the magical captures of light, and to all for the merry chatter that made the miles seem but a league.

Exeunt...

Martin

Alferce and Almost Picota

 

The weather was uncertain to the last minute, coming as it did on the back end of of a period what the British call "changeable weather". We arrived at the designated meeting point - the Snack- Bar Petisqueira "Tapas" only to find it closed. 

the closed cafe

Fortunately we found another cafe round the corner which was just opening as we arrived and all were able to secure their beverage of choice. 

 

 

Five intrepid hikers signed up including Hugh, a first time Wednesday walker accompanied by Francesca, herself only a second-time Wednesday walker. Then there was Ros (a thousand-time Wednesday walker?) neighbour Richard, and Tim, the walk leader and the only survivor of the recce.  

 

Amongst absent friends, none was missed more than Bruce who had shared the recce two weeks before (despite massive jetlag) and was even now rumoured to be in Switzerland😎. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We set out along a short stretch of paved road but after turning up towards a community ominously named "Alto" the still paved road became more of a lane. 

Ros knew people living here and we peered inside their front gate, but no-one was to be seen. 

 At the top of the lane the rain began, but miraculously ended again after two minutes, just after we had all donned our raingear! Raingear was removed again and our journey resumed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The road continued uphill, but soon turned into a delightful forested track decorated with flowers. 

 

We never saw the rain again😊, but the road did continue uphill. After all, we were headed to Almost Picota.  

  

 

 

 

 

The broad track narrowed to an overgrown but colourful path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We finally reached the most westerly point of our trail, where a path ran directly up to Picota, but we left that for another day and turned left up a very wet but manageable trail. It was a lot less wet than it had been on the recce. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of kilometres further and we were well on the downhill trail. We stopped for lunch with a small (very small) waterfall in the background.   

      

 More paved road, but very quiet except for the occasional dogs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so we continued to high point - or topograhically speaking - the low point, of our trip -  the suspension bridge over the Barranco do Demo (Devil's Gorge). 

The view as we began our descent 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could see Alferce on the other side, looking much closer than it actually was. The bridge was only constructed in 2023. It is very popular and has, apparently, 570 wooden steps altogether. 

 

on the way to the bridge

Francesca took a cautious approach

Others were more relaxed ....

 And we finally arrived back in Alferce! But, sorry to say, no picture of that😞. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distance 12.97km

Elevation 522 m 

1 April 2026 – (Cistus Valley) April Fool’s Day

 

AWW Walk report – 1 April 2026 – (Cistus Valley) April Fool’s Day

We all enjoyed a good catchup and drinks at the very nice café Trigo Bom in Figueira.  Big welcome to Debbie and Francesca on their inaugural Wednesday walk. Then we car shared to the starting point.

13 walkers and 2 x dogs.  Bruce, Dan, Linda, Trudy, Maura, Ros, Mike, Debbie, Tim, Karen, Francesca, Richard and Martin (photographer) plus the dogs Raffa and Toby.

We took a short cut through a field to join a nice wide track.  The farmer was just letting his sheep and goats onto the track; our dogs got a warning from his sheep dogs to keep away.

 

Then came our first water crossing but we all managed it safely.  Someone had kindly laid a plank across and some large stepping stones.

Then we cut into the hidden valley and joined the narrow paths between the cistus bushes.  

The bees were buzzing around in the air so some of us adorned our new head protectors.  These black veils are becoming popular with the walking group since the incident last Spring. 

We headed up the one main hill of the day, enjoying the views from the top, looking down onto the baragem below.

We passed the hover craft track with its two barking terriers yapping at us then headed down the valley, over two more river crossings.  Lots of pole sharing going on.

We passed another baragem and the dogs had another good cool off.  The only person we saw today was a guy tending his crops in a field. 

We found a nice shady area to relax and enjoy our picnic lunches and listen to the gushing stream nearby. 

Another water crossing after lunch which Ros crossed three times as she had misplaced her black veil.  Very important!

Then lots more narrow paths and cistus bushes, plus two more river crossings and another baragem for the dogs to cool off.  Ros decided to have a paddle at one water crossing.  Luckily the goats and sheep dogs had gone back home so we had a stress-free walk back to the cars.

Then we drove back down to Figueira and enjoyed nice cool drinks at the café.  Thanks, Ros for organising the drinks.

The walk was 14.08 kms and took 4 1/4 hours, including lunch stop.  No-one got stung and we all enjoyed a very scenic walk under the nice blue skies.  Thanks to Martin and Trudy for some of the photos.

Linda.