Views, Hills & Shiggy

 

Twelve intrepid walkers — Alan, Carol, Tony, Julie, Linda, Jan, John, Susan, Mark, Beverley, Karen and Stephen — plus Toby the dog, assembled at Pastelaria Bom Gosto in the centre of Santa Bárbara de Nexe for our Wednesday outing.

Well, most of us assembled there. A few had an unexpected preliminary challenge locating the car park, but eventually everyone was accounted for, suitably equipped and ready to tackle the hills.

Our first objective was the col in the hills behind the village. 

In a moment of generosity, the walkers were offered the option of a slightly different, un-reccied route out of the village, designed to take some of the sting out of the initial climb. 

Whether this was an act of kindness or a cunning way of introducing a little uncertainty into proceedings is open to debate!

Having reached the col, there was another democratic decision to make. Would anyone like to take the additional detour up to the windmill on the hilltop? The response was a resounding lack of enthusiasm, so the windmill was left undisturbed and we headed downhill into the Gorjões valley.

This took us through what can only be described as the local goat herd's toilet facilities. Fortunately, nobody appeared keen to linger and admire the surroundings, and we continued down to the road at the bottom of the valley.

It was then time for a little off-piste exploration. Leaving the comfort of established tracks, we picked our way across fields through gorse and prickly bushes. A few scratches and some careful footwork later, we eventually emerged back onto the road, with everyone still present and correct.

And some off the wall silliness!

An uphill tarmac stretch brought us to Snack Bar Tapas & Petiscos at Charneca. Despite the tempting prospect of refreshments, nobody showed the slightest inclination to stop. Clearly this was a group determined to get its exercise in before indulging in anything enjoyable!

Crossing the road, we took to the tracks climbing towards Agostos, passing through the familiar Algarve landscape of dry-stone walls, olive trees, scrubland and scattered houses. The weather was lovely, with sunshine, blue skies and some excellent views across the surrounding hills.

From Agostos, we descended along the trail to an old ruined building that provided a suitably rustic setting for our lunch stop. With everyone finding a convenient stone or bit of wall to perch on, sandwiches appeared and we enjoyed a welcome rest in the shade. Toby, meanwhile, seemed perfectly content with the arrangements.

Lunch over, we continued down across the valley before climbing the road towards Cerro do Guilhim. By this stage, the prospect of another summit was perhaps less appealing than it might have been earlier in the morning, so in another display of leadership generosity we spared the group the climb to the top.

Instead, we turned downhill towards Santa Bárbara de Nexe, following a succession of winding tracks and delightful tree-covered glades. The shade was particularly welcome, and the changing scenery made for a pleasant final section of the walk.

Watch out for the dreaded bees though!

Eventually, the countryside gave way to the streets of Santa Bárbara de Nexe and, more importantly, the welcoming sight of Pastelaria Bom Gosto, where we had started our adventure several hours earlier.

This time there was rather more enthusiasm for refreshments! We settled down for a well-earned drink, a chat and the usual post-walk reflections before saying our farewells.

All in all, a very enjoyable outing with excellent company, beautiful countryside, a little adventurous route-finding and just enough climbing to remind everyone that the Algarve isn't entirely flat.

Thanks to everyone for coming along, and especially to Toby for keeping the group entertained.

Stephen and Karen