Short and Sweet Around Paderne.

 AWW 26th April 2023.

Short and Sweet Around Paderne.

With midsummer temperatures forecast for southern Portugal, it was with some trepidation that this walk went ahead. Ros pulled out with a bad bout of hayfever, which left seven daring souls to gather at Moiras Encantadas as the heat began to develop. The aforementioned:

Linda, Miriam, Ken, Martin, Wendy, Marshall and Moi. Plus FOUR dogs once more - Toby, Bica, Rafa and Ted. 

The fella in the uniform said it were too ´ot to walk.

The intention was a maximum of 16k, but it was acknowledged from the start that we would not make the whole route, which consisted of three loops to the west and north of the town, ending with a short trip to the south. There are few photos for this walk, as I always forget to take them when in charge, but the participants get their faces recorded.

We set off along the road out of town to the west, crossing the bridge to Purgatorio (all the jokes were exhausted long ago), then turning left for a brief trudge along the Albufeira road, before turning off to the right, to pass under the A2 motorway.

Tarmac left behind for the moment, we made our way along the valley, then turned to climb the longish hill to Cerro Sao Vicente. We then followed an up and down course via Monte dos Valados, reaching our highest point at the hilltop settlement of Aldeia dos Matos. The heat was building, but with the saving grace of dryness in the heat and intermittent soft breezes, we were not suffering unduly. Regular water stops for ourselves and the four-legs helped us along.

                                          Paderne from Cerro do Valente (from Google Earth). 

                                                                           Water stop

By the time we reached the top of the climb, our water supplies were already becoming depleted, but narry a pump not well could we find, so we made our way along the ridge to the north-east of the hilltop. Coming to the edge of the plateau, we found our natural descent blocked, so we had to improvise a descent to the valley, where stock was taken under a tree.

It was decided at that point that we would make our way back to Paderne via the shortest route, as the heat and lack of water were beginning to have an effect. So we made our way through orange groves (delicious juicy fruits were nicked) to the side of the motorway, then along below it to reach a tunnel taking us back towards the town.

Reaching Paderne, we decided to try a different watering hole, as our usual haunt was busy with lunches. Cafe Capacho turned out to be ideal, with shaded tables, a delightfully helpful owner and a HUGE glass of vino for Moi. Prices maybe a tad on the high side.

At Cafe Capacho. Other photo didn´t take.

                                    Miriam was paying for the drinks, so she got a pic to herself.

Majority verdict was around 10.3k, which sounds about right. If this heat persists, Lord help us if it does, the walks will have to default to the summer schedule of early starts and finishes. 

The google photo shows the whole of the intended route. The section we walked is largely to the left of the motorway, plus the walk out of and back into Paderne.

Not a strenuous walk ... 19th April 2023

 AWW  19th April 2023

                                 

 9 walkers and 4 dogs gathered on the outskirts of Sao Bras.  We welcomed Marshall and Wendy back and they had brought their dog Ted to join us.  He looked very "posh" amongst the 3 rescue dogs! It was hoped they wouldn't lead him astray.

L-R: Linda, David, Ness, Terry, Wendy, Marshall, Martin and Ken with Miriam taking the photograph.

 

Initially we walked uphill out of Sao Bras, and there were a few rumblings about how no hills had been promised, but the leader reminded them she had said " nothing strenuous". Once out of the town, we crossed some old farm paths and zig zagged our way towards Alportel.

It was surprising to come across a small vineyard in the paths leading to Alportel, and shortly we found the old washing facilities.

We headed up out of Alportel discovering beautiful flowers along the way and were glad of our first banana break at the entrance to Fonte Ferrea. Bica nearly pulled Ken down a steep descent looking for food!

We then headed down into the peaceful  surroundings of Fonte Ferrea.  The dogs were glad to be off leads and paddling in the rivers.  We were to cross the river many times during our walk.

            

There was panic in the ranks when we came across this hill, clearly marked with a footpath sign. However the walkers were relieved to find we didn't need to go that way.  Phew!

It was starting to get hot by now, and a combination of pollen from all the cistuses and the dust gave Terry a fit of coughing.  Fortunately he recovered quickly and we walked on.

      

The heat was taking its toll, and Wendy asked if it was nearly lunch time! So we stopped for lunch at Fonte Tareja to eat and recover.

             

After lunch we headed  back onto the farm tracks and rural roads leading down to Sao Bras. 

            

Finally we made it back to the café for a well earned cold drink. 

I forgot to take the café photos and so missed Terry and Martin. Apologies.     

Adventures at Rasmalhao....5 April 2023

  Adventures at Rasmalhao

The Starters : 10 walkers and 2 dogs. Ken, Bruce, Ros, Jan, Marian, Frank, Sue, David, Miriam..... Linda the photographer. Plus Bica and Toby dogs.

A quick coffee at the cafe in Rasmalho before we car shared to the starting point.  I assured Marian that I had come prepared with a compass, whistle and two phones to track the walk,  and a sniffer dog.

Then we headed out into the wilderness between Rasmalho and Monchique. 

A nice gentle start, then we headed down the valley.  At the bottom I realised my tracker dog Toby was not with us. Lots of calling and whistling were to no avail. I assured the group he would find us.  At our first water crossing we waited and the group offered to go back to look for him.  I said he would be fine and would find his way back to the car.

We began our gradual long climb up the valley, further into oblivion.  One eye on the path and one eye looking for Toby. 

Then it was down into a small valley with more water crossings before the killer zig zag hill before lunch.

We became a bit spread out with some rushing to get the climb over and avoid the bees from the nearby hives.

There was another hiking group sat in the shade of a large tree by the hunting lodge. David had a chat with them. They had come a different route to us but had seen Toby the dog further down the valley. He had followed them for 10 minutes but then went back.  David gave them his phone number in case they saw him again. This gave me hope we would see him on our way back.

Miriam and Sue were the last to arrive for lunch and Sue had struggled with the hill and the increasing heat. She was huddled into the shade and given hydrating drinks. As luck would have it, a soon to be "Knight in shinning armour" came driving along the dirt track. Ros made use of her Portuguese lessons and persuaded him to give her and Sue a lift to the nearest main road which was Monchique.  Frank said he would drive up and pick them up after the walk.

 It was a long lunch for some so David entertained Bruce with stories of previous AWW mishaps.

The depleting group of 8 and one dog headed back down the valley. I made the mistake of following the path the other group had gone back on. It was not my planned route but was a very good path with no hills. Apart from the small part where I tried to get us back to my original route. Hence dirty bottoms down the short steep bit. All agreed to keep to the new path.

Near the end I took a detour to try and find Toby.  Bruce came with me. The main group found Toby sat by the cars and phoned to advise me.  What a relief ! Bruce and I were half an hour from the cars so I suggested they try and get him in Ken's car so they could all get to the cafe.  Five people and 2 dogs got to the cafe first. Then Frank and Sue, followed by Ros after picking up her car on route.  Finally Linda and Bruce.

Well deserved drinks at the cafe and all pleased to see Sue looking more refreshed after her long rest at the cafe in Monchique.

Some did 12 kms, the main group 18kms and Linda and Bruce 20kms. Not sure how many Toby did but he was very hungry.

The long route...

The shorter route....

Thank you all for joining me on this adventure.

Linda

AWW 29th March 2023    3 Trigs and No Big Hills  but later to be known as 1 Trig and No Big Hills.

2 blogs in less than 2 weeks is just asking for trouble! Suffice it to say that 9 walkers met at Carrapateira for a 9.30 start. It was an easy 16km stroll with a few hills of absolutely no significance, green and flowery inland trails, a pretty little hamlet, lunch with the cows, a beach devoid of parasols and sunbathers, spectacular coastline views and a short cut back to the beers. Enough sunshine to keep us warm and enough breeze to keep us cool. A slight difference of opinion at a junction led us onto an alternative route but , in hindsight, a more pleasant one as we avoided a very small stretch of tarmac and a very large number of beehives. However trig no.2 was also sadly missed. The short cut later on, by popular demand, also meant missing trig. no.3 . Never mind, they'll be there next time.

Alan's photos are superb and speak for themselves - I couldn't possibly comment ! Many thanks for these and thank you all for your company.

As I said , the photos say it all !!