ZIP-A-DEE- DOO-DAH.

Zip a dee doo Dah, Zip a dee a. My oh my, What a Wonderful Day.

On the last last walk of the season, 13 turned up to walk, 15 for lunch with 14 intending to do the zipwire. The planned numbers were like a Yo-Yo (the  toy not the biscuit)

At the start

Walkers were Ros, Alex (co-opted neighbour)Frank M, Lorna ( no intention of Zipping), Rose, Jan, Roger, Trish, Barry (John O’s grandson)Richard, Maria and Hazel. David was the photographer.

Also not in photo were Janice and John (my neighbours) who were co-opted to make up the numbers booked for the zipwire. they joined us at the end of the walking section.

The walk, as I had planned was very gentle: only 8km and very little hills. We meandered along beside the river Guadiana and then over a little saddle down to the small barragem to irrigate the fields in the valley.

The leader was a little confused on the route to be followed but Jan had been following the “masking tape” trail sign and brought us back on track.

It was warm, but Jan led us at a good pace: I am told that her pedometer registered twice as many steps as some others. I can understand that.

However at times, she relented and we all crowded in the little shade available

In about 1 1/2 hrs we were back down to the little river that flows from the barragem down to Guadiana. It is dry at this time of the year, but as it is our recent custom  we stopped as one of our walkers needed a short rest and to take on some water, due to the heat.

Then it was round the corner and we reached the “Praia Fluvia de Alcoutim”

We took on some sustenance before our sea voyage across the tidal Guadiana. One of our number could not stop herself jumping into the river fully clothed and with her hat on. I would not say that she thought that it was a trig point that was upside down and full of water.

It was very relaxing at this point. But if Hazel was drinking water, and Rose could hold her beer at this time, despite thinking about the zipwire, then whose was the other beer on the table? Or was Rose just fortifying herself for the trip?

Didn’t they look happy and relaxed. You would not think that some were terrified at the prospect of having lunch twice. Once in Spain and then potentially on the way back to Alcoutim.

Then it was up and away and via the police box and the ferry we travelled back in time for  our Tapas lunch in Sanluca de Guadiana, as arranged by Jan.

Everyone was grateful that we went up the hill to the launchpad, for the zipwire, by car rather than having to walk. However some were not grateful that we went up the hill at all.

Then there were the screams.

There were some who found it exhilarating: There were a few who did not make it back on the zipwire:

However we all enjoyed the day and the last walk of the season.

Technical Details

The walk was 9.2km and we we ascended approx 255m.

The zipwire was 750m

Frank M

AWW 14 June 2017 : Funcho and Lunch

AWW: end of Term Walk & Lunch, 14 June 2017

(or, really, End of Season 2016/2017).

Sue and I aren’t usually out here in June, so took up the challenge of organising this event. The 33C+ temperatures of last week’s walk were rather daunting, but fortunately the clouds arrived, the temperature dropped ( to only low 20s ) and I advanced the start  time by another half hour to 0900.

Sue actually remembered her boots and stick this week, though had to pop back to the house for her socks, so the omens were looking good.

10 brave Walkers arrived at the Casa de Vinho in Fuzeiros  for an early coffee ( much cheaper than last week’s!), though the prompt start was deferred by looking at the mesmeric news on the TV about the London Tower block fire.

L to R : Pat, Sue M, Frank, Hazel, Jan, Rose, John, Sue H, Geoff

Kneeling : Ros

No 4 legged friends.

We started off with a half hour or so of undulating hills : enough to get the heart pumping  a bit, but flat as a pancake compared to last week’s trials. En route, we passed a few of John & Jan’s native flowers:

 

We soon arrived at the Barragem de Funcho , one that Frank knew well from his Via Algarviana marathon, but getting the ladies to stop gossiping and look at the camera proved difficult:

The Barrage seemed quite full, and there was no sign of the submerged ruins, sometimes visible in a drought:
 

Our walk back was largely uneventful, apart from spotting some unsightly ordure:

Why, oh why, do people drive into the delightful countryside to do this?

Geologists amongst us might ponder the ancient upheaval that caused this rock to shift almost 90 degrees in a couple of yards:

We also passed evidence of a recent cork harvest:

and some local fauna ( a relative of  an AWW blogeur from the not-too-distant past ?):

We passed the  snail farm and revamped O Gralha restaurant, now closed on a Wednesday, but looking promising for a future luncheon base.

The ladies then shamed the gents, as they often do, by changing into more suitable lunch attire ( they do practice at Ladies who Lunch, of course) : here is Jan, rarely seen in a dress :

and a particularly elegant Hazel, fresh from a month of celebrating a milestone birthday:

         

We were joined by David, Antje and Chris for lunch...but shared our drinks with the local art class, practising their watercolour skills.

Lunch followed in the downstairs restaurant, to general acclaim at good value for 8.5€, even if there was quite a bit of furniture moving to swap benches for seats :

Cheers!

I was a bit concerned about how many places would be laid....Ros had initially booked 20-30 , but no one seemed to make a note of day etc.....I booked for 10 a couple of days earlier and gave them a note with date/time on it ; that morning, Ros had upped it to 13 in her best Portuguese......so, would there be 10, 23, 33 or ?.....anyway the answer was 11 for some strange reason , so we  just added 2 more. 

No one had bothered with walk-tracking devices, but I reckon 2.5 hours at a goodish pace meant 10km.

Great walking weather ( 10C less than last week is almost 20 degrees in old money), great company, good lunch.

Thanks to all who came.....look forward to 2017/2018, what a thought!

Geoff

PS It's a tradition to end an AWW blog with an erudite quotation....so here's two contradictory ones, take your pick as to which is most appropriate:

“The object of walking is to relax the mind. You should therefore not permit yourself even to think while you walk. But divert your attention by the objects surrounding you.” Thomas Jefferson.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking."  Nietzsche

PS
This is my first attempt at the AWW blog : many thanks to John & David for help and patience...I seem to have arrived at the destination without really knowing how, so apologies in advance for strange layout in places/any errors and ommissions....and, sorry Yves, couldn't resist it!
Please feel free to add comments.

AWW 26th April 2017: The Revolution Comes To Carrapateira

 

It was all somewhat surreal; a welcoming smile for your scribe from the Café Bravo proprietress who, in all the annals of the AWW, has never ever been known to smile before; a serenade over the morning coffee by a vision in pink who claimed to be uplifted by the spirits of Amália Rodrigues and Edith Piaf (one hestitates to suggest that some other kind of stimulant might have been her real inspiration); and then the arrival of the Lamonts, all clad in their Independence Day T-shirts, and still clutching carnations between their teeth (well, metaphorically-speaking). Somehow or other, our Leader, Antje, managed to get the group under Starter´s orders and, when all was over, to submit the following report the very same-day  – over now to Antje:

“Good Morning, Carrapateira !”  Could it be Robin Williams?

“Grey skies and a little rain forecast, not a promising start to the walk on the West Coast, but it improved. Where else  would you start  a walk with a rending of La Grândola in Portuguese followed by La Vie en Rose in French  by a local lady clad  in a cosy pink morning gown, wearing carpet slippers, and  sporting a wreath of yellow daisies on her head?  In Carrapateira, naturally. What was just as amazing was the friendly welcome "bom dia, como esta" which John H received from the owner of Café Bravo. But now to business.

 
Starters: JohnH, Janet, Manuela, JimH, Gillian, Hazel,  Antje, JimL, and David, with our 4-legged friends  Sascha and Rosie.

(plus the local Chanteuse de Carrapateira in full voice with her little dog at her feet.)

“We headed out of Carrapateira towards the beach of Bordeira,  crossed a couple of dunes and ended up on the boardwalk near to the restaurant Vista do Rio (good Caldeirada.)  We made for the Rio Bordeira but, as advertised and despite the low tide and JimL´s bridge-building efforts, it was not possible to cross dry- shoed.

Not exactly The Bridge Over The River Kwai

Boots off or plastic bags, both versions were used to cross the river and we headed towards the sea, for a short time immersed in dunes without sight of sea or land.

“At the end of the beach we took the path leading inland, through a little pine forest and then along the path towards the village of Bordeira. Some took a short cut across a meadow until it became too boggy and then joined the path.

Bordeira Street Art

“In Bordeira village the café was very busy and the consensus was to tackle the hill first before stopping for lunch, which we did after having reached the ridge. in front of a square tower. A log provided seating for most.

and now a chance to admire those T-shirts

“After that we followed  the ridge track and ignored  2 side tracks both bearing the same red/yellow markers as the one we were following.  I remembered John's previous advice to follow the electricity posts and we reached the bottom of the valley near Vilarinha and crossed a little stream by way of a concrete bridge where the dogs enjoyed a dip.

“Then an uneventful walk back to the cafe on a wide track; David  had remembered the chickens so both dogs were well leashed!
”A well-earned rest at Cafe Bravo and a generous sharing of avocadoes by Hazel and lemons by Manuela finished a lovely day.  Thank you all.”

 

And then to conclude the day as surreally as it had started, a white horse suddenly materialised by the market place. The owner had, one guesses, gone shopping in the Mini-Mercado Irene, but JimH and Janet resisted the temptation to go for a ride.

The track and the Stats:

Total distance: by popular concensus, 18.5 km

Total time :4 hrs 58 mins

Total ascent: 358 metres

Av. moving speed: 3.3 kph

Lunch break: only 17 mins

Now you really are in luck; here is your special musical bonus.

First of all, Amália Rodrigues with Grândola Vila Morena 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDEZyFsZGbo

Then Edith Piaf with La Vie En Rose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzeLynj1GYM

and a version of Lady In Red

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2zbq0QFFUk

as a wee tribute to the Chanteuse of Carrapateira.

And, finally, the obligatory quotation to keep Paulo a Pé happy:

“I remember a time when a cabbage could sell itself by being a cabbage. Nowadays it’s no good being a cabbage – unless you have an agent and pay him a commission.”  (The Madwoman of Chaillot – Jean Giraudoux.)

 

Photo credits: Antje, David, Hazel and JohnH.

Sao Marcos 19th April

AWW Sao Marcos da Serra, 19th April

or: Water, what Water?

                                         Starters: Hazel, John, Angie, Yves, Jim, Ros, Rose, 

                                         Manuela, Ingrid and Frank. DL Behind the camera.

When I sent out the notice for this walk, the temperature was in the high 20s, and I imagined a parched trail and wilting walkers. In the event, the mercury took a considerable fall overnight on Tuesday, and we had hazy sunshine and a cool wind . and the trail was NOT parched. The group was smaller than in recent weeks, with a good number otherwise engaged.

All assembled in Sao Marcos at the appointed time, having had to park in several scattered locations, as the stage for the Easter celebrations was still occupying much of the church square. Cafe Central was thankfully in business, so refreshments were taken. 

Then it was out on the road, down the hill and alongside the railway until we thankfully turned off the tarmac to wander up the long valley towards Monte Ruivo. All went well and swiftly, with Rose absolutely determined to walk the legs off everyone in the group until cries of protest slowed the pace a little. Not until the later part of this first stage did I begin to understand that we were not yet really in the dry season, when we came to a dip in the track still several inches under water. The group were surprisingly muted in their mutterings - at least within my hearing. Two individuals splashed straight through, but at this early stage most opted either for the plastic bags or bare feet.

From there to the turning point near the head of the valley there were blessedly no further water traps, and we climbed the fairly gentle slope onto the ridge separating the two valleys without further incident. No livestock up here on this occasion, but there were signs of recent bovine presence underfoot. Then we made our way into the valley,  across to Monte Ruivo and up to the IC1 crossing. Three more cautious walkers crossed via the bridge while the rest took their chances with the juggernauts.

It was after the climb away from the road that we hit water again as we turned south to head back to Sao Marcos. These crossings did have more or less dry edges, but some still insisted on the direct approach, and carried on through regardless.

Then it was lunch time, and a low grassy bank provided suitable seating, though some were a little unsure about ants - Ros sat in the middle of the track, and Angie, being new, has to serve her apprenticeship before being allowed a comfortable pew.

Onward down the long descent towards our destination, we encountered yet another water hazard, this time impassable with dry feet, as we made our way down towards the valley floor. Even more decided that the end was nigh enough to risk blisters, but Frank and I debooted and paddled through once more.

     Our VA hero dons his trusty boots once more.

There was one more stream to cross as we made our way back to the IC1 at the Sao Marcos junction, but Yves (he said) had been out early to lay stepping stones.

At the main road, I was almost decked by a white van hurtling round the corner as we once again diced with death, while the three aforementioned made the long trek round via the bridge once again. Then it was a matter of following the river towards Sao Marcos and climbing the long hill back to the start through the town - probably the steepest climb of the day. A pleasant half hour in the cafe followed, before all departed in good spirits.

           The Church, Sao Marcos da Serra.

Stats (Courtesy of John H)

Distance: 18.2 kms

Total time: 4 hrs 55 mins

Moving time: about 4 hrs 15 mins

Ascent 406 metres.

Average moving speed: 4.4 kph. (That´s what happens when ladies are allowed to take the lead.)

Lunch break: a very short 20 mins.

Track (ditto)

ATTENTION ALL WALKERS!!!!

                                        WANTED!

                                                  Unknown walker, goes under the alias

                                                  ´The Stick Tapper´. Wanted for sugar

                                                sachet rustling and banana skin kidnap.

                                                                 Large Reward.