VA Day 13 :...or That Was The Walk That Was ( or Wasn't)

 That Was The Walk That Was ( or Wasn't)

When our Dear Leader announced that we would be walking from Salir to Barranco Velha on the last day of this trip , the local cognoscenti threw their hands up in horror that we weren't going to walk the other way,  ie downhill! " In this heat?" they said, ...."The Dear Leader had decided to punish you all..."...."Must be Mad"....

So it was with some trepidation that we set off from the low foothills of Salir to , it would seem, try and emulate Ken's recent adventures in climbing up to Everest Base Camp....perhaps this was going to be worse? Or at least, 7 or 8 kms of the 15 planned for the day?

Anyway, cars loaded, we  shared lifts to Salir and assembled for the starter photo....being careful to avoid the myriad of painters  working on the white walls :

Only 9 of us today, L to R :  John, Susan, Gill, Sue, Miriam, Jim, Geoff,, Ken, Alan (kneelig)...and Bica

Up by the church and the Tapas Bar  where we had our end-of-term lunch last year, we headed off  down some steepish steps, with our Dear Leader leading : 

and others merrily following...for it was still cool and barely past 9 o'clock:

before venturing out on to some newly laid tarmac, and   our walk through lovely countryside. The land was very different to the last couple of days....newly ploughed fields, chickens, lots of defunct Nora's. 

Pretty....anyone know name?

Defunct Nora...vintage???

Local farmer, hard at work

Fortunately, there were lots of shady spots to rest....it was still hot with minimal breeze down in the valley ( probably between 25 C and 30C today, a touch cloudier and hence cooler than previous 2 days).

We did find  an almost dried up bit of a river though, enough for Bica to enjoy anyway...

A shady rest area

A chance to rest and enjoy Marian's special import of M&S Organic Apricots.....bearing in mind her exploits at Bordeira, she had thoughtfully remembered to open them in advance this time!

At last THE HILL seemed to appear and our Dear Leader led the assent:

...but it was a false alarm, the slope was gradual , but we did spot a cistus, probably painted by David back in  2005 and marking the original Algarve Way.

We noted that their  preferred direction was downhill too!

However, all good things come to an end, and at last we reached the dreaded HILL, after  8.1kms from Salir with a creditable 4.1kmh, bearing in mind the heat.

It was hard going , but we had plenty of shade and water stops, with everyone patiently waiting for me to bring up the rear, along with our trusty backstop Alan. 

At hilltop base camp, our Dear Leader ( now being sometimes referred to as Not Such A Dear Leader) did tell us, with a smile ( smirk?)  that the last stretch of the HILL was a fearsome gradient, the steepest of them all...

John didn't need a second bidding, he was off, no doubt with memories of descending that section on their recce...

Fears of a 6+ km HILL faded , fortunately, and the crest of the hill was reached after 2.1kms, with a big cheer and a Summit Achievers Photo:

The crest of the hill

Soon after, we reached the old windmill for lunch....

where I exercised my co-ordinators prerogative and pinched the only log of wood to sit on to eat & have a warm shower...

Geoff's shower......though hot water! 

You could see Salir in the distance...,

It was then a race to the finish...or at least some ice cold aqua com gaz at the Tia Bia. Carshare back to Salir, and then home...to a  proper shower and G & T!

Lovely when it stops...

You can see why the temptation is to go down hill rather than uphill......we spent 5 hours 11 mins out in the sun, but only 3 hours 38 mins walking, with a creditable 4kph, thanks to plenty of shade and drink stops. 

Well done intrepid AWW VA'ers.....we are now 12/17 days through this odyssey!

Many thanks to Alan for keeping me going at the back and for the photos : these are a mixture of his and mine.

Geoff