AWW : Moinha de Rocha...with a new beginning, middle & end.

  AWW : Moinha de Rocha...with a new beginning, middle & end.

After John H's explosion of  numbers 31 walkers last week, I was expecting something more modest  ( after all, I am not yet 80+1day, neither did I have the family out here) but 23 seemed a good number : unfortunately David couldn't make it as Dinah had hurt her head and he thought it best to look after her. We looked to be a bit short, till we saw Frank appearing, having insisted he had walked up from the nearby autodrome:

 Suitably refreshed at The Honey Cafe, we assembled for the usual starter photo....you can see Don checking the numbers at 22 ( more ado later)....he's the only one not looking at the camera.

L to R :  Dan, Trudy, Jim, Gill, John, OP, Stephen, Linda, Sarah, Trish, Don, Nancy, Russell, Ros, Isabel, Sue, Frank, Martin, Ken, Miriam, Geoff.....and Bica.

Off we set, walking up the hill that Sue fell  and broke her wrist last year going down : Jim decided to do a Captain Oates and do his own private recce ( or was it for a man-break?);

The rest of us went up a few ups, and down a few downs ....

....till we got  to where the Hippy Retreat people were building new fences...to keep us out or them in? Anyway, Jim and Bica decided to plot  their  own route:

 The domes were still much in evidence :

...but one of the watch towers had come down in a gale :

We passed an orchard, but no-one knew what of....

Up into the hills on the other side of the valley, where loggers were espied:

With a lot more steep Ups and Downs:

It was at the top of one particularly  steep climb that  a numbers check revealed only 21.....loosing one is not a problem ( 10% allowed) but not knowing who it is, is . We had a roll call...a first?.... to discover that Margaret was never present at all, having strained her back  carrying water for Stephen. Don had some trouble explaining how he counted 22 starters!

A lunch stop was called, unfortunately before the last (main)  Up section :

We then arrived back at the "old" Moinha de Roche trail , but the new firebreaks/scrub clearance had distorted the view and the leader wasn't always 100% confident that we were on the right track, but fortunately we were. Experienced AWWs will appreciate how different walks can look in reverse.

Back down the valley, where a large mechanical  strimmer was making short work of the undergrowth by the stream :

We passed an unattended fire....

before Russell had the chance of demonstrating his skills at fording torrents...unfortunately, the spoilsports had concreted over the other two water crossings, leaving only this one to play with;

Isabel was at pains to point out that she only had one layer on, compared to my two, but was reluctant to prove the point...

Bica couldn't understand why we needed stepping stones...

We waited for Trish to finish her shopping....

only to discover that she had been on an unofficial fir cone hunt...gallant Russell to the fore:

One more hill to go, with Russell carrying a bag , back to the honey Cafe for a well deserved drink.

5h 15m to include about 20 mins for lunch, and at 19.6km ( call it 20) , near enough 4kph.

All 21 delivered safely back.

Geoff