AWW 05.09.2007 - Begin at Bensafrim

The 'Freshers' group near Sven's Investment Property

Rod kindly volunteered to lead the first of the season 'loosener', and twelve stalwarts gathered in the Market Square at Bensafrim at 0830 hrs. John H. wasn't there and Myriam and I forgot to take the Starters photo, so we have to make do with this one taken about half way round when it was all coming back to us! I did remember to fire up the GPS, and at the end of the walk it duly coughed up the following stats!

Total Distance: 17.4 km; Total Time: 4 hours; Moving time: 3 hrs 40 minutes; Moving average: 4.7 km/hr; Overall Average: 4.3 km/hr; Max Elevation 132 metres; Total Ascent: 318 metres.


Those keen statisticians amongst you will have noticed that we accomplished a cracking pace for the first walk of the season, but there were few hills, and Rod was forced to up the rate to Gurkha Quick March soon after the half-way stage to get back in the promised 3 1/2 to 4 hours, which he did by a whisker, mainly because of muttered threats by Antje that she had some important social deadline to meet!

The track of our walk in red

Anyway, here is Rod's report in his own inimitable style:-

Leader: Rod

Present: Paul and Myriam, Janet, Hilke, Mike, Chris and Antje, John, Brian, Andrew and Tina,

Dogs: Tiggy and Nandi (making a debut)

Set off from Bensafrim Market Square cafe at 0830. Warm but breezy day and not too hot.

12 folk ( although nearly 11 since our new Hon Sec.,having most efficiently advised everyone of where to meet, herself turned up some place else!) set off on the first walk of the season. It was pretty modest in terms of physical exertion; in fact, somewhat unusually, only one gentle hill, but one does, of course, have to respect the potential damage to legs and the cardio-vascular system of weeks of summer lethargy.

Fairly uneventful amble for the first couple of hours. The top of the first, and only indeed, hill gave us an opportunity to admire the new battery of wind turbines beginning to desecrate the Espinhaço do Cao ridge and a line of elegant new pylons being tastefully planted amongst the new cork forests. Ah well, sometimes it seems it might be better if the lights simply went out!

The next point of interest was the Corte do Bispo vineyard; quite clearly the handiwork of a quite hopeless ( John and Hazel being away in Edinburgh!) viticulturist. Even after the second replanting, only half the vines (and there are 15 hectares of them) are productive....the rest have been overcome by weeds, dehydration and neglect. Having sampled a few miserable Touriga Nacional grapes we wandered up to the extensive but crumbling farm buildings; this purports to be the site of Sven Goran Eriksen´s mighty new soccer city. The resident farmer, however declined all knowledge of progress in this project, he also, somewhat suspiciously perhaps, declined to be photographed.

All this involved a rather lengthy chat during which Antje was becoming increasingly fretful about her need to be back by 12.30.

Setting a spanking pace!!

Rather than retrace our steps we carried on round the loop but to keep Antje happy we had to up the pace quite a bit. By keeping up a spanking 5 plus kph we made it on the dot. At least it meant that a few legs appreciated, or groaned at, being used again.

All hands to the pump

A couple of noteworthy events that Rod didn't mention:- as we came back along the river bank through Bensafrim, we admired the 'new' Urban Park that had been created. Several Marquees had been erected for a traditional arts and craft fair which was imminent, but a permanent fixture was the machine above, which the ladies seized upon and began to pump lustily. It turned out not to be an exercise machine, but a wind instrument of sorts as each operation of the handle produced a note from the hollow pillars of different lengths. With a bit of practice, Myriam reckons she could coach them in a passable version of the Theme from the Long March!!

The Hollow Toad

I spotted this little chap at the side of the road, and wondered what he was doing out in the heat - until I looked more closely, and saw the hole in his side. He was completely hollowed out yet his external skin had dried and retained the original shape. Even the best taxidermist would have been pushed to emulate nature!!

Liquid lunch

And so to the cafe at the end, where the service was rather surly, but as a corollary we had the place to ourselves, the locals probably preferring the Bensafrim Football Club bar! Having been promised a morning only walk, no-one had sandwiches, so the beer went straight on to the undigested remains of a long-since breakfast - but no-one said it would be easy - the First Walk of the Season. The Tilley count was three - and the only new equipment produced appeared to be the lightweight sticks sported by Chris and Antje.

Janet does a Ribbon Dance

Bizarrely, as we drove out of the village after our drinks, Janet's car quite accurately picked up an airborne strip of plastic wrapping, which looked quite impressive as she drove away. Even more impressive was Myriam's papparazzi photo which captured the ribbon in full stream. An early contender for Artistic Photo of the Year!