Picota and back via Monchique November 22, 2020

 Our inaugural recce walk on 24th October followed the PR 2 Camino Das Caldas- Picota route which starts in the beautiful village of the Caldas de Monchique. Here we met our co-walkers and advisors Jim and Gill.

The fab four set off with gusto and upon crossing the EN266 realised we must be on the correct path when we saw the sign for our own Murphy stout. Our route followed a paved road the hard surface of which was compensated by the incredible views of the mountains of Monchique. Even though the trail was well marked the leader and one of her advisors managed to go off piste. Not so for the intrepid John and Gill who were less adventurous and actually managed to stay on the correct path.

We continued to climb and eventually reached a sign which directed us to the top of Picota. This section of the climb was uneven and required a little care but the panoramic view was well worth the effort and extra distance. We dined in style at what seemed the top of the world. 

Fully sated we carefully descended from the top of Picota and intercepted the GR13 -Via Algarviana. We followed a dirt track to Monchique where we had a cafe to reinvigorate the caffeine depleted fab four. This gave us a boost to begin the climb back to the Caldas de Monchique. This part of the walk appeared non ending perhaps due to the lack of stunning views which we had encountered on the first half of the walk.

Distance: 21 km

Maximum altitude: 702 m

Verdict: a fantastic walk with spectacular views not for the faint hearted.

Start at Caldas  Gill, Jim, John

Jim and Susan Perdidos

Top of Picota Jim and John

A good sign at the start (Murphys)

Route Map

Jim and Gill at Trig point

Interesting Tree

International week walk Salir - Benafim Circular. Have you heard the one about.....

Have you heard the one about the Englishman, the Scotsman, the Irishman, the Frenchman and the Italian?  No.  Well I couldn't possibly tell you here.  This is an AWW blog after all!!!!

This week's famous 5 L to R : the Irishman Martin, the Italian Sergio, The Scotswoman Jan, the Frenchman Tony and behind the camera, the English woman Julie.

We met at the church by the Salir watertower. Unfortunately the tapas bar was closed so we had to forgo a pre-walk brew and get going on the trail.  In a departure from the normal, Jan lead us down the back passage to the start of the route.

  

This took us past the appropriately decorated butcher's shop.... though I don't usually buy my chicken off the top of a pig.  Perhaps it's the Salir way?  Looks like a friendly butcher.  Wonder if he's got a big chopper?

Once down to the cafe bar O Pcao and on to David's route, we meandered down the valley to check out the many noras and cisternas.  It must have been a very lush and fertile area.

Anyone for a swim?

They are quite something to behold!

I could make one of these! 

On to Fonte Figueira, then Almarginho.   I was reading David's directions very slowly from the download on my phone when Sergio leapt to my aid by putting the next couple of co-ordinates into his GPS.  Brill!!  We discovered that we had missed the turning. Martin, Jan and Tony had gone on and appeared to be deaf when we called, then shouted, then Sergio blew his whistle.  Still they didn't stop, all the locals came out though.  We caught them up at a shady  water stop on what was turning out to be a hot day. Was it time for a rest?

Always good to find a quiet, shady spot for a quick one.  

After pressing on across the valley we came to the climb which seemed to go on and on with little relief.  Onward and upward onto the ridge and fabulous views.  We turned west along the good track to the orange groves before Benafim.

The very big wall.

We pondered the reasons for the very big wall.  One thought was that it kept out beasts both 4  and 2 legged.

The evidence.  Yes we did stop for drinks in Benafim. A quick lesson in the use of GPS.

Back on the trail we decided to stop for lunch before the climb back.  During the break there was a very interesting discussion on male grooming using the technical terms which I couldn't possibly mention in this blog!  There is no evidence of this thank goodness!! After lunch it was again onwards and upwards, over the top then down towards Salir. Great views once again.

Typical Algarvian design in the little hamlet of Portela da Nave.

Coming into Covoes.  We found that some residents are very creative.  Come on you AWWs, hop to it!

Or perhaps we could borrow a bike and wizz back to the bar.  Mine's the pink helmet please.

After a slight deviation with a steep descent (and who doesn't like a spot of deviation??) due to the leader abrogating her responsibility to lead, we made it to Ponte de Salir.  The end was in sight.

Are these people famous?

After the deviation and descent never have a group of people been so relieved to see a cemetery before.  Just one last climb to the finish.

At last, a very welcome drink in the shade of the now open tapas bar.

Can anyone spot a visitor?

The vital statistics.

 

Endiabrada and the Hidden Lakes

Most Westerly AWW Endiabrada and the Hidden Lakes walk, lead by John Davey, photo credits John and Nancy

Our start: Cantinho da Bordeira
Guests Tom and Margaret, Nancy, Steve and John behind the camera

John arrived fully prepared having made copies of the route for all participants. Early on the tone was set when we missed a turn. 

Lots of map reading and pointing

Some head scratching

Despite valiant efforts to reestablish the route, we rarely knew where we were. The hidden lakes stayed hidden and Steve requested a refund, having become very set on seeing lakes.

No clue

Next, our guest Margaret had a shoe fail.

Thankfully, Steve carries tape in his back pack

Every step of the way was beautiful and the weather nearly perfect. We had a few water crossings and wet areas to circumvent due to the recent rains.

Everyone stayed dry

Our very scenic lunch spot

Lunch with a view

Following lunch, Steve was certain he had established the correct circular route back and it seemed we were on the original planned route, now in reverse. However, we felt we could no longer ignore our guests concerns regarding our whereabouts and the likelihood that we would be back before sunset, so we turned around and walked back the way we came. 

Awesome leader

Back at the cantinho, the news of John's reputation as an awesome leader had spread and he was given the cup of honor. We all had an awesome time so that makes an awesome leader and as an American I can't say awesome enough. I'm not sure we'll see our guests again. They may have had a somewhat less than awesome experience.

Summer Sun in California: North of Salir.

The Formidable Five met at Portela do Barranco to wander the ridges and valleys of California: the original California which is just north of Salir and not the upstart in the USA.

Bica, Ros, Ken, David and Miriam. Jasper took the photo with Frank M's support

Ros had discarded her jumper when she saw the starting hill. It was a warm sunny day for the UK. Also she needed to reduce the weight of her bag, so that she could carry her "water crossing" shoes, as advised, as possibly required, in the pre-walk write up.

It was a gorgeous winter day and as we strode off, heads were up and there was a spring in everyone's step. At the start of the walk heads are held high, we pick up our feet and we swing our walking poles

But that all changed when we hit the hills, and the hills, and the hills......

We had great views from the first ridge: to the west was Malhao and to the east was the rubbish tip just north of Barranco Velho - shimmering in the sun. But soon it was down into the valley to the water crossings. These had been frightened by Ros, carrying her extra shoes, and had reduced since the recce, the previous week. We skipped over without too much trouble for most.

Ken decided that 3 legs and a stick are better than 2 for crossing the stream

Jasper got wet and was "Shaking all over", but we kept away.

And after wandering by the winding burbling brook through the valley, we came to the hill up to the deserted village of Barrigoes. The hill was advised as the toughest of the day, but as you might expect the Finicky Five found another hill after lunch to moan about as well.

You get to see the route to Barrigoes

And then you get to experience it.

Barrigoes is in the middle of nowhere. The roads are all un-made. but there is still street lighting to guide from the middle of the collection of houses to the Font to collect your water. There are about 3 or 4 little groups of houses in the area. It also has a cell phone signal.

How important is it to catch up on our fast paced life? 

After our technology fix we set off downhill with great views over the valley and down to Sarnadinha, one of the few settlements still with people. It also has goats and sheep

Sarnadinha in the sunshine on the road to nowhere: gorgeous, but not a place I would choose to live

We crossed the road and travelled round the north of California: It took abut 20 minutes at the pace set by the Fast Five. We stopped for lunch in this era of covid and you can see that we could be called the Far-Flung Five by our separation.

Who has lost their daddy?

After lunch we had the hill which the Fatigued Four ( not me) thought was as bad as the morning one.

Fractional two of the Fatigued Four

As we tramped back to the cafe with leaden feet which were still dry - they refused to cross the last stream by the direct route but demanded that a 200m detour be taken. Ros's scuba diving boots have been reserved for a later date. They are the modern rubber ones and not the brass ones.

Statistics and Damn Lies..

Distance                     17.5km

Elevation change        534m

Time                           5hrs 15min

Walking speed            3.7km/hr (just right for the Fit Five)

Weather                      Fantastic

Views                         Fabulous

Frank M

20th November 2020

 Querenca - The sequel

On a beautiful morning Wednesday November 11th the Eastern Algarve Wednesday Walkers subgroup famous five reconvened in Querenca and having hiked to the North and West of the village we completed the circle and hiked to the East and South. Interestingly, we had two hike leaders: Martin for the first 9km and Sue for the second half. Worryingly neither of us had reccied the overall route together before Wednesday.

 The Famous Five: Jan, Julie, Sue, Tony and Rafa. (Martin taking the photo!).

We setoff down the now familiar hill to the valley below before climbing the now familiar hill to the north and then turning left to explore a scenic river valley. The morning was heating up at this stage and we followed a long meandering route to arrive at Fonte Benemola and a quick stop to admire the local artwork:

Jan and Tony get ready for a quick photo

Not bad as graffiti goes 

With the shot in the bag Jan and Tony looked happy to continue:

While Sue and Julie looked on :

We then started a long show climb back towards Querenca with a short intermission while Rafa went awol chasing a cat. Sue's part of the hike then took us down a previously unexplored lovely donkey type trail down towards Fonte Filip with amazing colours for a November morning:

Look at all the happy faces

 As we neared our lunch stop we crossed the first of several streams. this first one was taken in their stride by the ladies in our group:

Our carefully chosen and comfortable lunch stop was very welcome after almost 12km.

In the window of this abandoned cottage we discovered a bird's nest. Sadly, unless one of our experienced birders can correct us this looked to contain an abandoned egg:

After lunch the hike continued as encountered some more challenging water crossings. This time Julie and Sue decided it was time for a foot bath :

As we continued to wind our way through the countryside Tony spotted yet another work of art, this time on Jan's back:

Art by Jan 

Along the way we also passed some items of agricultural and artistic interest:

An olive press ?

Finally, we wound our way back to Querenca for a well earned drink. Sadly the writer at this stage was far too interested in the cider to preserve this enjoyable moment for AWW posterity.

Route Stats:

Length 18.5km

Total ascent 531m

Thanks to Julie, Tony and Sue for photos from the day.

Martin

November 2020