Trigs and Windmills. What more could you possibly want in a walk?

 To meet at the fabulous Sue Minnis's house obviously !

We've got a walk for you
and there'll be drinkies too.
Better still, you can chat with Sue.
She´s Scottish and brave (tart).

(Scotland the Brave, clean version)

Sadly there were no bagpipes and marching bands but drizzle and cloud.  Not the boiling hot sun Julie had expected.  Still, after coffee and home-made buns, 12 happy chappies and one impatient dog gathered at the gates for the customary naming and shaming...

From the left: Joern, Karen, Martin, Frankie, Steve, Peter, Jan, Naomi, Rachel, Ros with Linda and Toby on the front row.  Julie was hiding behind the camera.

Julie had taken the precaution of sharing the trail with Steve and Martin so that, should she fall ill, fall off a hill or fall out with someone, they could lead the walkers back.  It was really not necessary as this was a Sue walk so most people had done it in some form or another previously.

A gentle start up the road then off on the marked trail.  However, the gentle stroll couldn't last as everyone knew we were going up to the windmills.  Well, everyone but the guests haha!

Still, it was worth it for the views over Santa Barbara and down to the coast.  Great views of Ikea as well!

Always a good idea to send the oldest walker up to the top of a windmill!!  Who else would be daft enough?

Well it got a proposal....

For Jan

As this is a family blog we're not telling what the proposal was .....

And it wasn't " Rapunsel let down your hair"!!

On up the second windmill.

And yes, Frankie is only 11!

Steve pointed out a good trail towards Mar Shopping which gave Julie a good idea for her next AWW walk. 

Of course everyone knew what was coming next - Nexe  Oh yes, Nexe the hard way  Up the steep, slippery path.  Julie should have realised that the temption of chairs two thirds of the way up would be too much for some i.e. the sensible ones.

A quick breather before the summit.

If there are any aliens watching or listening, this is what some humans do for fun!!

And they send their young up the trigs !!!  She volunteered after we explained it was the tradition. Julie didn´t even have to bribe her with promises of ice cream and/or chips.

After the summit we deviated from Sue's route and followed good tracks down towards the Ribeira de Goldra valley.  Easy tracks with no major downhills. Julie is not good at going down!!  Just ask Tony.

A quick head count to make sure Julie had got everyone safely down!

Yes it was a walk, not a sit-in.

After being given the choice of up to Alto do Relogio or an easier up straight to Goldra, the group made the decision to take the easy route  Julie was relieved.  

After lunch by the roadside, a bit of tarmac before the final off road and trig...

Back to the cars at Sue's and up to the the cafe in Gorjoes for a well earned drink..  Sue can to join us.  Julie was so happy to get everyone back and to have remembered the kitty that she forgot to take the final photo for evidence.  Sack her!!!

Many thanks to Sue for her hospitality.

Stats:

About 14.5 kms, 290 m of climb and 4 hours in time.