AWW Away Days 2017.
Marvão, 21st - 24th October.
Castelo de Marvão
All kinds of coincidence, ill-luck and hotel availability combined to reduce the group taking part in the annual getaway to just ten people this year,which was a great pity, as the surroundings, weather and walking experiences were again excellent. Small proved to be proverbially beautiful, however, and we enjoyed a fun and harmonious three days of walking, eating and sight-seeing.
The Party.
Seen here at the start of the walk on Day Three are eight tenths of the group. From left to right, Val, Lorna, Eileen, Frank, John D, Nick, Pam and Ros. Missing are Colin who was not able to walk and yours truly behind the camera.
Day One
Folk arrived at Marvão in ones and twos during the afternoon. I drove up via Évora in around four hours, to be told at the desk that three people had beaten me to it. ´Mr Christopher´ (alias John) had left home near the west coast at 5 a.m., and was resting(!) I ran Frank and Lorna to earth on the terrace at the Casa do Povo cafe enjoying a coffee and the view. I had a solitary but very good lunch at the restaurant up the steps and returned to the Pousada to find Ros and Eileen. I directed them to the same restaurant after agreeing to meet them afterwards for the grand tour of the walls and castle.
Waiting by the wall at the appointed time, I witnessed Nick and Pam arriving, having left Peter enjoying his own mini-break in Monchique. Val and Colin made it around the same time, but slipped past me unobserved. Then Ros was waving at me from the window of the restaurant, their meal having overrun somewhat.
There followed the aforesaid grand tour, taking in the magnificent views and the many points of interest along the walls, at the castle and in the museum.
Health and Safety?
Looking back to the village from the castle.
Walker in residence.
It was never stormed, apparently - can´t think why........
We were not the only arrivals that afternoon. The annual plague of earwigs descended, covering every surface in sight. One lady at the castle was spending her day sweeping them up, but the following morning there was no sign of their visit. Most extraordinary.
Earwig convention.
Then it was time for a lie-down, shower and change before dinner, which we had been told we could not have before 8.00. I went down a little later than intended, to find most of the group already getting outside enormous G and Ts:
Colin making an appearance at last
There was also some discussion about the wine waiter, who did not seem to understand when John asked for a beer. This individual was to cause a good deal of merriment as our stay progressed. Comparisons were made with Fawlty Towers, though I had one or two ´Two Ronnies´ sketches in mind.
I outlined the programme for the next day before people became too happy to listen, and then we went into dinner. Which is a whole other story. The meal was a catalogue of errors and delays which left some of us without wine for far too long, all of us without a main course for half the evening and some waiting for much longer than the rest. The food was fine, but the service desperate. Unexpected numbers were the excuse, but it was simply not acceptable, and my review has made this clear.
Day Two
I had requested an early breakfast, but this could not be provided, so we were almost all waiting outside the restaurant just before 8, ready to devour and depart. The walk would be over 20k, so we needed to be off. Lorna opted out and would spend the day sight-seeing and making a booking for us at another restaurant in Marvao. Colin had been ´persuaded´ by Val to act as sweeper for the day, so all the rest were going to attempt the full course, with a back-up if needed. That support might have been lacking, because halfway through breakfast my phone buzzed, and I had a panic-stricken Val telling me they were locked in their room by a door-chain that would not open. My immediate reaction was to explode with laughter, which did nothing to calm matters. Very shortly however the secret catch was discovered and the prisoners released themselves.
Plan for the Day
A route had been chosen which takes in part of the GR41, a circular based on the town of Castelo de Vide, a short distance north-west of Marvao. The main attraction of the route is a series of prehistoric menhirs, of which we visited the largest.
The whole of GR41 - 61 km
The Section we Walked. 23k
We travelled to Castelo de Vide in two cars, Nick taking the narrowest road he could find from Marvao into the valley, enjoying the delights of the new Discovery. A taxi had been ordered at C de V to take us to the start of the walk, but I had been unable to make contact to confirm the booking. I need not have worried as, after some confusion, we located the drivers who were waiting for us. Isn´t it nice when things go as planned? We were then driven safely to the centre of the small town of Povoas e Meadas, and left to find our first walk marker.
Waiting for a Sign
The path does not pass through the very centre of the town, so we had to employ Frank´s tablet to locate the route, which took a little time. The first section involved a 3k tramp along tarmac, but the road was very quiet, the day sunny and the surroundings beautiful. The whole route, indeed the whole area, is covered with outcrops of dark grey granite, similar to those found on our Picota, which assume interesting shapes. We were watched and accompanied by strange warriors on the hillside as we walked, but we had the benefit of one of Alberto´s bridges, and the delight of seeing some wonderful white horses.
They´re trying to cut us off at the pass!
Everyone has their uses.
Have a nice day!
Turning off the road, we walked through rolling countryside, and eventually came to the sight-seeing highlight of the day, at the Menhir de Meada. This 7 metre phallic column was found in two pieces, repaired and erected as you see it here. Speculation that it is a disguise for the Portuguese nuclear deterrent was quickly squashed, but we had our banana stop at a picnic table close by.
Menhirus Maximus
Ways to keep a fence upright, Lesson One.
From here it was a very pleasant undulating track that we followed through rolling countryside, taking lunch in a shady hollow.
There´s always a swot
Shortly after the break, we came across an ancient clapper bridge over a (predictably) dry river. It may once have been held up by stone columns, but these had been reinforced with ironwork, which was probably a good thing.
The gap indicates the rocker!
The next three photos are of some of the aforesaid granite blocks, worn or split into interesting shapes:
Jungle Drums - there were other suggestions!
Monster from the Black Lagoon
Jurassic Park (soft focus)
Reaching a junction with a tarmac road, we rang Colin to alert him to our presence, assuming we were in the agreed spot. A very involved and increasingly irritable phone conversation got us nowhere, but Frank´s tablet eventually revealed that we were at a different road crossing, at which Colin threw in the towel and went back to the hotel, leaving the whole group to finish the walk willy-nilly. Everyone was in fact well up to the task, but Val felt it would have been a poor do to have had Colin hanging around all day for nothing.
Waiting for Colo.
And so on to the next road crossing, in the process crossing an old railway line with tiny stations. It looked as though it had been in use quite recently, but probably not. (Anyone with a photo?) Then at the next road junction the party divided. Some followed the direct tarmac route into Castelo de Vide (they found a short cut on the way), while Pam, Nick and I followed the footpath into town (this was in fact a local route, not the GR41, which would have been too long). We climbed the steep hill to the centre, using a very attractive donkey track for part of the way. (Readers will notice that the camera was not getting much use by this time.)
Drinks were taken at the small cafe where some of us had made landfall in the morning. As we entered the place we had a time-warp experience. Not only was it small and very old-fashioned, but the lady of the house insisted on asking for escudos as payment, in spite of the remonstrations of her daughter, who seemed a little more up to date. The photo is taken from Google Earth, 2009.
We then returned to the hotel checked that the dinner booking was arranged (thanks to Lorna) and settled down for a rest.
The evening meal at Restaurant Dom Manuel was excellent, served with good humour, promptly and efficiently by ONE man. An object lesson to the Pestana Group.
Satisfied customers
And so to bed....
Day Three
The Plan
A much shorter walk was planned, to give everyone the chance to experience the local countryside, so nine took the high road (or the country lane) to Ramila do Baixo for the start. The distance suggested by the regional walking guide was 12k, and this was more or less correct, but the ascent figure was wildly inaccurate, as we climbed almost twice as far as advertised. The walk however was excellent, with plenty to see and experience, including a visit to Spain.
Arriving at Ramila, a tiny settlement on the route, we had an amusing encounter with a local lady when we were parking the cars. Telling us exactly where we could leave the vehicles, she then used her only words of English about twenty times so, once we found the first marker, we set off with ´bye-bye´ringing in our ears. For the start-photo, see the start of this blog!
Parking Attendant, Ramila do Baixo. (Honorary position).
The walk was a delight of shady lanes with fallen leaves underfoot, valleys with running streams and spectacular views. Here are the highlights.
We saw many birds, including a number of raptors, but the best views were of a pair of griffin vultures, first of all in flight and then at rest. My photo managed to catch one in the air, but John D get a fantastic shot of them perched on a clifftop.
We had a welcome drinks stop at the cafe/post office/village store in Galegos, where the walk officially starts. We would not have found it but for locals who told us the location, halfway up a hill well clear of the village.
By far the most entertaining moments were when we crossed the frontier into Spain at the village of Fontaňera. We walked up a track past a newly renovated building that might have been a customs house, past an unassuming boundary stone and a village boundary sign, and then it was 1.30 instead of 12.30, the road was named in Spanish and the ladies we met down the road were bilingual, but certainly Spanish. It felt very odd.
Got your passport?
Any Street, Any Town...
Nope.
If I put my left foot on the other side, what time is it?
Another of the tracks passing through this place is called the Percurso dos Contrabandos. Apparently they were smuggling coffee. Seems they were not all that clever, as they left signposts for all to see.....
Got any Blue Mountain this trip?
Returning from our international excursion, we doubled back to Galegos and then headed north. Lunch was taken below a hill where an Iron Age settlement was advertised in the leaflet, but there was no sign on the trail, and when I went up to investigate, the ruined village on the hillside was fenced off. So. back to the fruit and nuts (no not the group, my lunch)
The homeward route took us down to a stream with flowing water and stepping stones - very AWW
And all day long, we caught sight of Marvao on the hilltop. It seems impossible from these angles that a settlement could exist on such a narrow summit.
There was more to this day, but I could go on for too long. We returned to Marvǎo in good order, and had a second dinner at the Dom Manuel, equally as enjoyable as the first, accompanied by a good deal of merriment. I remember something about Irish prunes, but I´m damned if I can remember why it was so funny - Frank?
It had been decided that everyone would do their own thing on the last day, so after another very good breakfast (hot food 20 minutes late), we went our separate ways.
My thanks to my fellow travellers for another great trip, and for your generosity. Where next??
To end, here are some more photos. I´d be delighted to receive more for the archive if you have.
Reconstructed Iron Age dwelling
Yes, there really was water.
Interior of one of Marvao´s churches
View from on of the streets.
