VA Day 4

 At 8.30 am a 5 car convoy left Alcoutim and headed into the mist. Arriving at Vaqueiros about an hour later we were relieved to hear from Jim there were few if any hills that day. And the hills were low, with gentle slopes. ( Never buy a used car from Jim!) The sun was now breaking through.  What could possibly go wrong?

Firstly Ros discovered she had left her walking shoes and pole in her car at Cachopo and she had also left the car unlocked! A frantic search was organised and spare shoes/ socks and a pole were found and we were ready to go.  No not quite.  Marian raced back to get her rucksack which she’d left in the toilet nearby .

From left to right: Brenda, Ken, Frank, Marian, Alan, Ros, Jim, Jan, Geoff, Sue, Gill, Elisabete, Bica and Miriam.

So off we trudged followed by our own private rescue service thanks to Otter.

The way post told us it was 14.5 km

We soon started trudging up the first, second, third, fourth etc of the non existent hills.  Jim smiled sweetly and assured us, after each hill that was it, no more hills. He lied!

We marched on in brilliant sunshine.

Enjoying wonderful views and brilliant scenery, Alan discovered an old Hillman Minx.

We met, passed and were passed by a young Dutch girl striding out on her own.

Lunch was a welcome, albeit brief 19 minutes break and rest.

At 12.35 the walk was halted by the repeated 3 blasts of a whistle.  The accepted sound of an emergency/ problem.  No one remembered to answer the whistle with the same, but Jim and Ken walked back to the end of the group. The emergency? Jan had her socks on inside out! ( actually it was blister repairs!)

We continued and then the leaders requested silence. 3 small goats were standing on a woodpile watching us and it was a great photo opportunity.

Only 3.6 kms to go

Poor Otter was redundant as mountain rescue. ( thank goodness )

Onwards and upwards again we marched resolutely towards the finish line.

And there we saw Cahcopo in the distance.

And so the end of 4 days of the VA , 76 kms in total, lots of sore feet and legs, but all proud to have achieved it. It was lovely to sit in the cafe and enjoy a well earned drink in the company of friends and fellow walkers.

A big thank you to Gill and Jim (plus John and Susan) for doing the recce and to Geoff for all the organisation. Thanks too to Alan for all the photos.

Until the next stage …..

Ken & Miriam

Map from Ros....+ 2k 'cos she forgot to start recording in Vaquieros ( something to do with no shoes, no socks, no pole !).....but then i forgot to turn my recording off at the end till i got home...(Geoff)