At the start of the week the Famous Five were down to the Fabulous Four after our leader for this week's Wednesday walk twisted his knee. We think it was due to jigging around laughing at the chaos caused by Brexit. That meant no route, no leader and no guide dog! An executive decision saw us stick to the plan to meet at Fonte Ferrea with a view to setting off and seeing where the fancy took us. We drafted in Alan to boost us back to the famous five and to have great company, expert photography and knowledge of the area.
For those who are interested in Fonte Ferrea, All about Portugal.pt says it's a " Picnic park, located in the midst of pines offering its shade. Pleasant spot with various tables and benches. The chalybeate waters are famous for its attributes for centuries. This park has excellent access and offers backup outfits for visitors" Well we didn't get any backup outfits but we did enjoy the pleasant spot, the pines and the excellent access!
The starting lineup L to R : Sue, Alan, Jan, Tony and Julie.
The view we know and love. You never tire of the postcard perfect views.
Weighed down under the burden of responsibility. Or was it the very steep hill that Julie suggested we go up!!! First climb.
Oh decisions, decisions. Up or down, left or right? Still with such glorious views it didn't seem to matter much.
There seemed to be a way down into a valley and we could see tracks on the hills opposite so down the firebreak we went.....oh dear,there was no way across the stream or through the thick undergrowth.
Then the very steep uphill out of the valley. Oh well we’d discovered where not to go. Jan decided that the fire brake wasn’t tough enough for her and climbed straight up the hillside.
Across the N2. A welcome drinks break with stunning views on the way up to Bispo.
At the trig, Bispo. We didn’t even have to argue over who was the youngest! Jan volunteered. Alan said he’d captured the best of Jan.
At last, a sign. Well several of them. An easy decision - on down to cross the N2 again. On the way down we had an interesting lecture on Vitamin D from professors Alan and Tony.
Are there leprechauns under here then? Tony and Jan check out an "Irish" bridge
Beautiful tree heather.
Missing much loved pussy with a €100 reward. The consensus of the group was to buy a lookalike for €5 and deliver the beast to the grateful owner. Devious beggars!
A sunny spot for lunch.
Off back up a hill.
Right, decision time again! We voted to go a bit further up to Cova de Muda. Jan informed us that muda is the German for tired. Alan said he just kept hearing Covid de Muda. So onwards and upwards to Covid Tired. Seems appropriate.
Jan taks the high road and Julie taks the low road and Julie's feet are wet afore Jan's On the way back to Fonte Ferrea.
Afternoon and still frost on the ground. On the trail back to the cafe.
The result!
A final socially distanced drink together. See you all soon.
The stats.
Well done Julie for her virgin blog...her last chance for some time , it would seem.
ReplyDeleteHope to see you all again before the weather gets too hot for walking. Miss you all. X x
ReplyDeleteA Grand day out. Great weather despite the ice we found on the north side, shaded by trees .... in the Algarve ??? Sssh!!!
ReplyDeleteNice photos too. A bit of technical stuff, if I may. Blogger is not very user friendly for posting photos and they can come out on the small side. But there is a way to enlarge them. After you have "inserted the image", place the cursor on the picture: a cross appears: left-click on the picture: a six box menu drops down. Click on the fourth box from the left: then you can select "very large". I have done this for all the pics on Julie´s blog. Click on the second from the right box, and you can add a caption if you want to.
ReplyDeleteHi John, thanks for your comments and tips. We've been using a small notebook computer to edit our blogs, with no mouse but a touchpad. We do enlarge pictures using this method, but I think we'll we'll get a mouse to make things easier. Take care and hope you're keeping well.
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