Toddle and Tapas.
End of Another Year
AWW 16th June 2021.
It´s quite
interesting to note how the centre of gravity of the AWW has moved steadily
eastwards over the years. The bulk of our regulars now come from east of
Silves, hence our jollies tend to happen in that area too. So it was that we
again celebrated the end of the extraordinary 20/21 season by returning to the
Janela da Serra in Salir. But again in true AWW fashion, we were not allowed to
eat until we had used our feet, so walk we had to do. Alan was excused, as he
was escorting his lady to lunch, and Dinah came to lunch to make sure that
yours truly could find his way home.
Thus it was that
the following assembled at Café Porto Doce (should´ve been next door, but
someone didn´t understand what ´opposite the Farmacia´ meant), ready for a
10.a.m. start.
Ros, Ken, Miriam, Frank, Martin, Sue M, Geoff, Sue H, Jan, Sergio, Brenda, Karen, Linda, Russell and David. Bica came along to keep the four-legs end up
A warm welcome
back to Russell and Linda, recently released from their prolonged lockdown in
Portimao, and to Geoff and Sue, who finally managed to navigate the intricacies
of the PCR/traffic light system to join us for a short time.
The weather was cool
and partly cloudy, which was ideal for the task, although the projected
distance was only 11k. The start photo was taken across the road from the café,
outside the village dental surgery, and suddenly everyone seemed to want to
remain anonymous. Dare I say it didn´t do the camera any harm? Sergio arrived
in the nick of time to be included, and Russell tried to pretend that he had
been growing during lockdown.
Sorry, guys, there´s no bank in the village these days. But we do have a posse!
Past ´Casa Ames´
we toddled, soon admiring ( ritually!) the remains of the Algarve Way symbol on
a lump of sandstone by the side of the track. Off the tarmac, we passed the two
houses that make up Pedras Ruivas, and crossed the dry stream bed to make our
way down to the N124 crossing at Casa Branca. Here we turned off to cross the
valley towards Palmeiros, and all was going well – too well.
My original recce
had identified a stream bed via which to climb the first part of the hill
ahead, but sadly tree cover had allowed a large pond to remain, blocking the
way. I had considered asking folk to bring bathing attire, but thought better
of it. So, a short off-piste was required, which necessitated a trudge up a
ploughed field followed by a battle with a sharp ascent complicated by clumps
of gorse. Once we reached the track at the top of this climb, running repairs were
the order of the day.
The trek resumed,
we made our way to the tarmac leading up to Palmeiros, and walked through the
village, always a pleasant experience. Passing Casa Otter, Jan stopped to talk
briefly to a painter person wearing a vaguely arab style head covering, whom
one of the party mistook for Otter himself. Jan had to gently point out that
the aforesaid gentleman would not be seen dead with a paintbrush in hand.
The remainder of
the walk led us across country from Fonte d ´Ouro, via Renda and Pedreira, back
to Salir. This is a most attractive section of pathways which takes you all the
way into the village with only brief acquaintance with tarmac.
Folk then
retrieved their transport and headed up to the tapas bar, where we sat outside
with drinks for around half an hour before sitting down to eat. Alan and Carol
joined at this point, as did Dinah with my change of clothes, into which I
changed in the minuscule toilet below stairs.
The meal itself
was just a little chaotic. Waitress Jouele was working with the cook to provide
our meal and deal with people outside the restaurant, with no other help. The
dishes came rather more sporadically than usual and without seeming logic, but in
the end everyone seemed to have enough to eat. Indeed, when squid appeared at
the tail end, some people seemed well and truly stuffed!
Geoff summed up
our very different year, and looked forward, hopefully, to a rather more normal
coming season. Reference was made to the celebration of 25 years of the AWW in
the early autumn, date etc to be announced when the covid situation is more
clear. Coffee was taken outside before all went their separate ways.
Thanks to all for
your company, for giving a very well-deserved gratuity to the staff, and for
your forbearance, as ever, regarding my navigational error. It seems that quite
a few folk are intending to continue walking through the summer, so our paths
may well cross.
Até a proxima!
See the route of
the walk below. Red lines indicate departure from my original route.
