Emergency to Calamity - Release Walk. 7th May, 2020

Emergency to Calamity - Release Walk. 7th May, 2020

From May, 4th the Portuguese Government relaxed the lockdown from a 'State of Emergency' to 'Calamity', allowing up to ten people to be together  while social distancing. So, without further ado, I decided to gather a few hardy souls together for an ATW, as it was a Thursday!

From Right: Jan, Diane, Rachel Diana.

No four-legged friends attended. However, having read Roger's blog. . . ! No soggy tails!

Full recce.

Full face masks.

Social Distancing.

So the four brave girls got together in the hamlet of Palmeiros to spread enjoyment (but hopefully not Covid 19!) accross the Barrocal. It must be remembered, of course, that none of us is in a high risk group, elderly or vulnerable. Our "vulnerability", however, might be subject to some scrutiny! We set off with  face masks in place and flowing wild hair, long fringes and marmite streaks (lack of non essential tonsorial care). Well, the lady readers will understand. 

We headed down the caminho publico adjacent to my house that connects our hamlet with the parque naturale. On the far side of the park we started to climb. As we ascended we took  a moment to look across the valley to Covoes and to wave to David and Dinah.

On the opposite side of the vallery we saw the village of Salir, the church and the watertower being most prominate. (Always a good landmark around here, so no one should ever get lost in the Caldeira as this bit of geography is called).

Then, on a flat hilltop we stopped to drink in the spectacular 360 degree view and, on that particular day, unusually so far this year, we could enjoy it in full sunshine.

Following the path to the stream we then headed up onto a tarmac road but shortly turned north onto a another small path. On both sides and, indeed, across the whole valley there was an abundance of wild flowers; but most striking was gorse covering the hills like a yellow blanket. We stopped here to take refreshments and admire the views. 

Also, we discussed with each other whether we had found out anything different about ourselves during the lockdown. Rachel decided that it would be an easy transition from work to retirement!!! But, we all agreed that the time that we have had, has made us realise that we can take things easier and not to be chasing ourselves around the whole time!

Off we set again. We were now running parallel with the Loule-Salir road which is believed to have been one of the Caminho do Santiago pilgrimage routes from the south of Portugal to the holy shrine of St James at Santiago do Compostela.

We headed down the hill to a meadow of waist high flora. 

We were now 'off piste'. Did I miss the route, or was it buried beneath the undergrowth? Due to the herbaceous mass it was slightly difficult to find any navigable paths but, eventually, I stumbled upon some tractor tyre-tracks which made the going a little easier and which led us onto a proper road. We followed this and  made our way down to a ford crossing the Algibre river shaded by overgrown cane which, along with the cool of the river,  gave us a momentary respite from the sun.

Beside the ford a small footbridge allowed us to keep our feet dry ( no soggy tales here) and upon which, we enjoyed another 'take five'. From here we made our way up the hill following an old, rocky, burro track to the Salir-Palmeiros road. This we crossed and took a parallel country path passing orange groves, crop plantations, olive and almond fields and even vines. This led us onto a tarmac road which took us back to Palmeiros.

And, at this time of austerity, the only post-walk drinks were from our water bottles.

The stats are shown below, the reading of the kms should read 11.48kms.