Montes de Cima
Eighteen walkers and 3 dogs were at the Honey Cafe at the appointed hour, sunny but with a cool breeze :
Even the dogs were looking the right way for a change.
L to R : Geoff, Tony, Bruce, Sue, Alan C, Trish,Vyv,David,Julie, Ken, Miriam, Kieran, Mary, Ros, John, Susan......kneeling, Alan S and Linda
Off we set along a bit of tarmac, before descending into the fields :
and the first of our gentle climbs...
and descents....
The dogs relished some water, in a pond that was dry on the recce 2 weeks ago...Ziggy remained aloof...
We passed the near-empty hippy commune , causing Julie to wax lyrically about her recent trip to such an establishment...
And hence to the Cafe-that-is-no-longer-a- cafe at Moinha de Rocha. This caused David & Ros to reminisce about how they could actually recall it was a cafe ( any WAGS got a picture of it in it's hayday?)......and a brief respite .....
We then picked up another 4 legged friend, Charlie:
He got on well with our 3 canines and escorted us all the way...we learnt later that he once got as far as Foie!
At the cut-off, we said farewell to Alan C, Ros and Trish:
You can see Alan C busy building up some stepping stones.....he was asked for a Bailey Bridge, but he failed there....
So onward and upward to pick up a bit of speed , with lunch at the top of the hill:
We thought Linda & Toby had gone up another hill, but Alan's telephoto revealed Bruce and Charlie:
Mainly downhill after lunch ( always a good idea). I pointed out the distant trig point that always seemed inaccessable....I recall Hedley ( who used to walk a lot around here) saying he never found a track to it. A challenge for the future!
We passed another pond, too tempting for Charlie, who provided great entertainment...
Ken was developing a bit of a list to starboard by now...
But he manfully soldiered on and didn't sink at the water crossing.....still no Bailey Bridge...
The dogs had a good time, but Charlie didn't want to leave us & go home:
And so back to the Honey Cafe, for a well earned drink:
Some arcane AWW rule says that only a 10% loss is permitted, loosing 3 was therefore a bit high....but we did gain Charlie, so I reckon that's OK. Susan had rung his owner who collected him from the cafe, albeit without any thanks!
Thanks to all & especially Alan S for (most of) the photos. Stats & map :
Geoff
Looks like a great day out in the sunshine. Charlie? Do I recall a wee walk in the vicinity, maybe only a year ago, when John had difficulty getting a lovely wee pup to go home, the pup returns!
ReplyDeleteMoinha de Rocha…, how many remember when it was a cafe, already closed many years ago, but on that day, before ten in the morning, we were drinking madroinha, ick…ick, to celebrate a big birthday?
ReplyDeleteI note only for historical reference that, either the person in question is still AWW walking, or perhaps it is only a likeness in the current photography…, the more recent version seems to have lost weight!
A very pleasant walk in the sunshine with a good mix of greenery, streams, ponds and views. But thankfully without the strong, cooling breeze at the start. Just long enough.
ReplyDeleteA great walk and fabulous company. Thanks a million Geoff
ReplyDeleteThoroughly enjoyed the walk , great conditions and very pleasant company. Tried to catch a few words with everyone present. Here is a link to the route from Outdoor Active .
ReplyDeletehttps://www.outdooractive.com/en/r/287678719?utm_source=unknown&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=user-shared-social-content
It doesn’t do anything Vyv.
DeleteMiriam , if you copy and paste into Google search box , it should work. The link address is correct but the Blog doesn’t accept it as a link …. Have another go , otherwise I will email it to you
DeleteThanks Geoff for the lovely walk. Great weather and scenery and good company.
ReplyDelete