AWW 26th April 2017: The Revolution Comes To Carrapateira

 

It was all somewhat surreal; a welcoming smile for your scribe from the Café Bravo proprietress who, in all the annals of the AWW, has never ever been known to smile before; a serenade over the morning coffee by a vision in pink who claimed to be uplifted by the spirits of Amália Rodrigues and Edith Piaf (one hestitates to suggest that some other kind of stimulant might have been her real inspiration); and then the arrival of the Lamonts, all clad in their Independence Day T-shirts, and still clutching carnations between their teeth (well, metaphorically-speaking). Somehow or other, our Leader, Antje, managed to get the group under Starter´s orders and, when all was over, to submit the following report the very same-day  – over now to Antje:

“Good Morning, Carrapateira !”  Could it be Robin Williams?

“Grey skies and a little rain forecast, not a promising start to the walk on the West Coast, but it improved. Where else  would you start  a walk with a rending of La Grândola in Portuguese followed by La Vie en Rose in French  by a local lady clad  in a cosy pink morning gown, wearing carpet slippers, and  sporting a wreath of yellow daisies on her head?  In Carrapateira, naturally. What was just as amazing was the friendly welcome "bom dia, como esta" which John H received from the owner of Café Bravo. But now to business.

 
Starters: JohnH, Janet, Manuela, JimH, Gillian, Hazel,  Antje, JimL, and David, with our 4-legged friends  Sascha and Rosie.

(plus the local Chanteuse de Carrapateira in full voice with her little dog at her feet.)

“We headed out of Carrapateira towards the beach of Bordeira,  crossed a couple of dunes and ended up on the boardwalk near to the restaurant Vista do Rio (good Caldeirada.)  We made for the Rio Bordeira but, as advertised and despite the low tide and JimL´s bridge-building efforts, it was not possible to cross dry- shoed.

Not exactly The Bridge Over The River Kwai

Boots off or plastic bags, both versions were used to cross the river and we headed towards the sea, for a short time immersed in dunes without sight of sea or land.

“At the end of the beach we took the path leading inland, through a little pine forest and then along the path towards the village of Bordeira. Some took a short cut across a meadow until it became too boggy and then joined the path.

Bordeira Street Art

“In Bordeira village the café was very busy and the consensus was to tackle the hill first before stopping for lunch, which we did after having reached the ridge. in front of a square tower. A log provided seating for most.

and now a chance to admire those T-shirts

“After that we followed  the ridge track and ignored  2 side tracks both bearing the same red/yellow markers as the one we were following.  I remembered John's previous advice to follow the electricity posts and we reached the bottom of the valley near Vilarinha and crossed a little stream by way of a concrete bridge where the dogs enjoyed a dip.

“Then an uneventful walk back to the cafe on a wide track; David  had remembered the chickens so both dogs were well leashed!
”A well-earned rest at Cafe Bravo and a generous sharing of avocadoes by Hazel and lemons by Manuela finished a lovely day.  Thank you all.”

 

And then to conclude the day as surreally as it had started, a white horse suddenly materialised by the market place. The owner had, one guesses, gone shopping in the Mini-Mercado Irene, but JimH and Janet resisted the temptation to go for a ride.

The track and the Stats:

Total distance: by popular concensus, 18.5 km

Total time :4 hrs 58 mins

Total ascent: 358 metres

Av. moving speed: 3.3 kph

Lunch break: only 17 mins

Now you really are in luck; here is your special musical bonus.

First of all, Amália Rodrigues with Grândola Vila Morena 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDEZyFsZGbo

Then Edith Piaf with La Vie En Rose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzeLynj1GYM

and a version of Lady In Red

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2zbq0QFFUk

as a wee tribute to the Chanteuse of Carrapateira.

And, finally, the obligatory quotation to keep Paulo a Pé happy:

“I remember a time when a cabbage could sell itself by being a cabbage. Nowadays it’s no good being a cabbage – unless you have an agent and pay him a commission.”  (The Madwoman of Chaillot – Jean Giraudoux.)

 

Photo credits: Antje, David, Hazel and JohnH.